russia probe
Twitter and Facebook's leaders could be called to testify before Congress in the Russia investigation
Representatives from Facebook and Twitter could be asked to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee in the ongoing investigation into Russia's involvement in the 2016 election, Recode reports.
Facebook admitted last week that it unknowingly sold $100,000 worth of ads to a Russian "troll farm" during the 2016 presidential election. On Monday, The Daily Beast additionally reported that Russians used fake identities to organize inflammatory protests in the United States and advertised them on Facebook.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said Tuesday that "we're seeing more evidence of additional ads and how they are used to manipulate individuals." He said representatives from social media companies should be required to testify in a "public hearing" and that he plans to discuss it with committee chairman Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) at some point this week.
"Let's face it, the whole notion of social media and how it is used in political campaigns is the wild wild west," Warner added. "And again, I'll grant Facebook that maybe they weren't as fully aware in the immediate aftermath of our elections, although for many months they said this didn't happen. I've wondered about that." Read the full report at Recode.