Senate Intelligence Sets Hearing on Social Media Election Influence

Facebook, Twitter and Google executives will testify at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing Nov. 1 to explore Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. elections and explore steps to mitigate similar activities in future elections, the committee announced Wednesday. Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Mark Warner, D-Va., and John McCain, R-Ariz., recently (see 1710190054) unveiled the Honest Ads Act (S-1989) to compel online companies to follow the same disclosure rules as media companies. Online companies are instituting their own measures in response to the increasing congressional focus (see 1710230061). Twitter announced a new ad transparency policy Tuesday, while Facebook announced Oct. 2 it would heighten transparency steps and increase requirements for authenticity.