Cybersecurity
Google’s Empty Chair Ratchets Up Pressure From Congress
- Senators blast search giant for executive absence at hearing
- Some people at the company said to regret Pichai’s no-show
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Google, faced with what may be the most intense political scrutiny in the company’s 20-year history, decided to pass on a chance to defend itself in Congress.
A U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee panel was convened Wednesday morning, the latest in a series of high-profile hearings on state-sponsored election meddling involving the largest technology platforms. Senior executives from Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. sat before the senators next to an empty chair marked "Google." The biggest unit of $837 billion Alphabet Inc. opted to bear the blowback of a vacant seat rather than send its reclusive founder, Larry Page, or his handpicked successor, Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai.