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US Senators Grill Facebook & Twitter Execs, While Google Bunks

Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg appear at the US Senate hearing.

Updated
Tech News
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Facebook and Twitter executives plan to defend their companies in two congressional hearings, arguing that they are aggressively trying to root out foreign actors who want to do the United States harm just weeks before the midterm elections.

One chair will be occupied by the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg while Twitter's CEO, Jack Dorsey will also be at the receiving end of some angry Republicans who claim the companies have shown evidence of bias against conservatives.

Google too was to be present at this hearing, but the company did not send a senior executive. Either Google CEO Sundar Pichai or Alphabet CEO Larry Page were supposed to attend the hearing. Follow the live blog below.

Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg appear at the US Senate hearing.
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg (left) and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey at the US Senate Intelligence Committee hearings. 
(Photo: Facebook)

You can also read how Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg was grilled by the US Senate on privacy concerns five months ago.

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9:37 PM , 05 Sep
KEY EVENT

US Senate Vice Chairman Mark Warner Wraps It Up

Warner thanks both Dorsey and Sandberg for their presence and urges both to make their platforms better safer for users across the US. He also thanks them for taking down bad actors online and also help fighting against fake news.

US Senate Chairman Richard Burr also thanks both the individuals for being present and addressing the senators’ questions. Burr also thanks them for their contribution to battling bad actors and elements online specifically taking stringent steps against the Russian influence in the 2016 elections.

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9:30 PM , 05 Sep
KEY EVENT

US Senator Cotton on Why Wikileaks is Active on Facebook and Twitter

WikiLeaks and Julian Asaange remain active on Facebook & Twitter. Sandberg says that these accounts don’t violate any of Facebook's terms. Twitter also says the same and clarifies that it is open to inviting law and enforcement to investigate if needed.

Google's absence has been repeatedly brought up throughout this hearing consistently and for sure it’s not very popular on Capitol Hill right now.

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9:25 PM , 05 Sep
KEY EVENT

Senator Manchin on Why Facebook & Twitter Don't Operate in China

Both Facebook and Twitter do not operate in China because the Chinese government hasn’t allowed both these platforms in the country. Sandberg and Dorsey are unanimous in their reply to the senator.

9:11 PM , 05 Sep
KEY EVENT

Senator Lankford on Data of Suspended Accounts

Both Twitter and Facebook keep records of the suspended accounts for later analysis and also for referrals by law and enforcement bodies. Sandberg was also questioned on the number of fake accounts on Facebook.

At any point of time we think about 3-4 percent of accounts are inauthentic. 
Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook
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Published: 05 Sep 2018, 7:21 PM IST
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