White House to host talk on online extremism, but likely without Trump


White House to host talk on online extremism, but likely without Trump

President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019.

Sarah Silbiger | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The White House plans to host technology companies on Friday for a discussion about the rise of violent online extremism days after the weekend massacres in Texas and Ohio.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to host a fundraiser in the Hamptons on Friday and is not expected to be at the discussion.

The suspect in the El Paso rampage, which left 22 people dead, is accused of publishing an anti-immigrant screed on the web forum 8chan minutes before the attack took place. Prosecutors are handling the attack as a case of domestic terrorism. The motive of the attacker in Dayton, Ohio, where nine people died, is under investigation.

Read more: Here’s how websites like 8chan get ‘taken down’

“The White House has invited internet and technology companies for a discussion on violent extremism online,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said in an email. “The staff-led meeting will take place Friday and include senior administration officials along with representatives of a range of companies.”

It was not immediately clear which technology companies were invited to send representatives to the White House. The major social networks and tech firms either did not respond to a request for comment from CNBC or declined to comment.

— CNBC’s Eamon Javers contributed to this report.


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