Cheat Sheet: Senators want more transparency into 'addictive' Facebook, Twitter and YouTube algorithms

A Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on the impact of social media led to criticism of public policy executives from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The conversation veered into the negative effects caused by those companies’ data-fueled, ad-supported business models. “... this is an area that requires urgent attention," said Sen. Chris Coons, the Delaware Democrat who suggested social media algorithms promote false information. Read more below.

• During a hearing with Facebook, Twitter and YouTube public policy execs, senators said they want more transparency into how social media algorithms are built and work.
• To understand the trials and tribulations of iAd, here’s a closer look at the pitch deck the company used in 2015 to loosen advertisers' pursestrings.
• By the end of Q2 2021, none of Flipboard's curated newsletters will support banner ads, as the content aggregation platform shifts its email business to native sponsorships to make more money.
• Pinterest has 380 million international monthly users, compared to 98 million in the U.S. The company signaled that U.S. growth will be “flat.”