Seven big technology firms met at the White House on March 11 to discuss ways to prevent further spread of disinformation about the coronavirus, according to Politico.
Four things to know:
1. Facebook, Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, IBM and Twitter representatives all attended the meeting.
2. The U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios convened the call to outline a path forward about spreading information on the coronavirus. The White House also reportedly asked the companies to use their "technical know-how" to help the government with its response.
3. The companies are taking different steps to prevent the spread of misinformation; Apple is rejecting coronavirus apps that aren't from hospitals or governments and Amazon is reportedly in talks to deliver coronavirus testing kits that can be delivered directly to the homes of employees in the Seattle area. Amazon is also combatting price gouging of face masks, hand sanitizer and other products on its platform.
4. The White House said it would release a database of coronavirus research and ask the big tech companies to help analyze the data with artificial intelligence for additional insights.