Livestream: Senate hearing on Russian election hacking, as Google, Facebook, and Twitter testify
On Tuesday, three US tech giants--Facebook, Google, and Twitter--at the center of the controversy on alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election started their public hearing in the Senate.
The hearing resumes on Wednesday at 9:30am.
Our sister site, CBSN, will be carrying live coverage. You can view it in the embedded video livestream above or access CBSN live from your computer, mobile device, or TV streaming device (Roku, Apple TV, Xbox, Fire TV, etc.).
SEE: Cyberwar and the Future of Cybersecurity (a ZDNet/TechRepublic special report)
Scheduled to testify are:
- Colin Stretch, General Counsel at Facebook
- Sean Edgett, Acting General Counsel at Twitter
- Richard Salgado, Director of Law Enforcement and Information Security at Google
- Clint Watts, Robert A. Fox Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (Philadelphia, PA)
- Michael S. Smith II, Terrorism Analyst (Charleston, SC)
They will be testifying before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary's Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism. The title of the hearing is "Extremist Content and Russian Disinformation Online: Working with Tech to Find Solutions" and it's taking place in Room 216 of the Hart Senate Office Building--across the street from the US Capitol.
SEE: Video: How Russia and other state actors hack social media (TechRepublic)
They will testify before a nine-member committee that includes:
- Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chairman
- John Cornyn (R-TX)
- Ted Cruz (R-TX)
- Ben Sasse (R-NE)
- John Neely Kennedy (R-LA)
- Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member
- Dick Durbin (D-IL)
- Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
- Chris Coons (D-DE)
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) will chair the hearing in which Google, Facebook, and Twitter will testify.
On Tuesday, Facebook's Stretch admitted that Russians used the company's platform to try to influence the election and "sow discord." Stretch said, "The foreign interference we saw is reprehensible." He also commented that it continued after the election, when the foreign powers used similar tactics to try to delegitimize the election results.
The impact of these hearings on businesses could include new regulations for cybersecurity, social media marketing, and electronic communications in general. For tech companies, it could mean new levels of accountability and transparency. Stay tuned to ZDNet and TechRepublic for further analysis.
Also see
- Four things we learned when Facebook, Google, Twitter testified in Russia inquiry
- Help me AI, you're my only hope: Tech giants to Senate on Russian election meddling (TechRepublic)
- Facebook, Twitter aim to dodge regulators by regulating themselves (CNET)
- Google: Russian groups did use our ads and YouTube to influence 2016 elections
- Twitter bans Russian media companies from advertising on its platform
- Facebook splitting news feed could force companies to re-think social media marketing (TechRepublic)
- Facebook, Google, Twitter execs to testify at Russia hearings
- Cyberwar: The smart person's guide (TechRepublic)
- Did Russia's election hacking break international law? Even the experts aren't sure
- Putin says Russia doesn't hack others, but patriots might have
- Trump backs down from 'impenetrable cyber unit' with Russia
- Beyond Kaspersky: How a digital Cold War with Russia threatens the IT industry
- Russia copies China's VPN crackdown
- Bitcoin laundering suspect caught in US, Russia extradition spat
- The nasty future of ransomware: Four ways the nightmare is about to get even worse
- IT leader's guide to the threat of cyberwarfare (Tech Pro Research)
- Electronic communication policy (Tech Pro Research)