The three technology media giants absorbing most of the spotlight for Russian influence in 2016 election on their respective platforms are poised to testify in open hearings next week before Congress.
Facebook, Twitter, and Google will send their three general counsels to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee at 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 1, the panel announced Wednesday.
Then, the three men will go before the House Intelligence Committee later that afternoon, which was confirmed by the panel on Monday.
Both hearings are open and will examine the social media influence by Russia in the 2016 election — and implications for further election cycles.
Colin Stretch, Facebook’s general counsel and vice president; Sean Edgett, Twitter’s general counsel; and Kent Walker, Google’s senior vice president and general counsel, will all testify.
The three companies were asked in September by the two congressional committees to testify in an open setting following revelations that Russia-backed forces bought $100,000 worth of ads on Facebook before the 2016 election with the intent to inflame social tensions in the U.S. Twitter said it removed 200 accounts linked to the same Russian groups.
The Twitter accounts were taken down in August, but were found to be linked to nearly 500 Facebook accounts and pages traced back the International Research Agency, a Russia-backed troll farm.
The hearings come as lawmakers look to make political advertising buys more transparent.
Democratic Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, as well as Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona unveiled the Honest Ads Act last week, which would require ads on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Google to explain who bought them.
