WASHINGTON _ Facebook Inc. says it hasn't been invited to President Donald Trump's tech summit at the White House slated for Thursday, while conservative tech critics and groups have already confirmed their attendance.
The White House announced the "social media summit" June 26, saying it would "bring together digital leaders for a robust conversation on the opportunities and challenges of today's online environment."
Trump has accused large technology platforms such as Alphabet Inc.'s Google, Facebook and Twitter Inc. of anti-conservative bias and last month said the U.S. government should sue Facebook and Google for unspecified wrongdoing.
Republican Representative Matt Gaetz, a Trump ally, plans to attend, according to a person familiar with his plans. Conservative groups including The Heritage Foundation and Turning Point USA are also planning to go.
"We're not sure what to expect," said Heritage Foundation spokesman Rob Bluey. "I think it's valuable to get people to get together in the same room and have these conversations."
Bluey said he didn't think the tech companies needed to be there because the companies had already discussed the issues with their critics.
Bluey said he would be prepared to talk about times he believed Heritage experts were censored for their views, although he said the think tank _ which promotes free enterprise _ is "prepared to advocate for market pressure as opposed to government pressure" as a solution.
Spokesmen for Google and Twitter didn't immediately respond to requests for comment about whether they were going to the White House. CNN reported on Sunday that Twitter wasn't invited either.
