The White House is hosting a meeting this week with tech companies but it wasn’t clear which companies would be involved. Staff of the White House, internet and technology companies are going to have a discussion on violent extremism online. The upcoming Friday meeting will include senior administration officials and a range of companies.
There is no clear answer on which companies will be present. A Twitter spokesperson declined to comment, while Facebook and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Racist posts are showing up all over the website 8chan, where even the El Paso shooter posted racial slurs. This alarming news has raised even more questions about online platforms’ responsibility to deal with extremism.
President Trump announced Monday that he would order the Justice Department to meet with tech companies “to develop tools that can detect mass shooters before they strike”. This was all being done without actually calling for a major new gun control legislation. This new wanted direction will most likely raise concerns over privacy and feasibility.