Finance Minister Janet Yellen Calls Twitter Must Be Obedient On Valid Content Standards

US Minister of Finance Janet Yellen with Indonesian Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati. (photo: twitter @secyellen)

JAKARTA - US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday, November 30 that social media companies such as Twitter should stick to certain standards for content. He called the excuse that they were "not much different" from radio stations and broadcasters who were subject to the rules.

Speaking in the New York Times Dealbook Summit, in New York, Yellen also said he believed there were legitimate national security concerns related to TikTok, China's video sharing app.

Yellen declined to say whether the State Investment Committee in the United States (CFIUS) led by the Treasury Department is conducting a review of Twitter following several requests for Saudi Arabia's share investigations into the company following the takeover of the platform by billionaire Elon Musk.

He said CFIUS was watching acquisitions and investments in US companies by foreign buyers that could pose a national security risk.

"I'm not going to say specifically what we're or not seeing," said Yellen. "We don't comment on the ongoing work. But if there is such a risk, CFIUS deserves to see it."

Musk on Monday 28 November accused Apple of threatening to block Twitter from its app store and said Apple was pressing Twitter at a request for content moderation.

Yellen said he believed it was appropriate for mobile technology giants Apple and Google to demand certain content standards.

"I think it's a good thing if Apple sees the content. Most broadcasters are subject to standards in terms of what they broadcast to the public. And Twitter is not much different from other broadcasters," said Yellen.

Asked if it would be good if such a platform oversees content, Yellen said. "This is some kind of control that I think is necessary," he said.

Regarding TikTok, which US FBI Director Chris Wray says raises national security concerns because of the risk that the Chinese government can take advantage of video sharing apps to influence users or control their devices, Yellen said he also believes there are "legitimate national security concerns."

"It's something that's in the process," added Yellen.