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FEDERALhearing transcript

High Impact

Senate Hearing on Social Media Influence in the 2016 Election

Original title: OPEN HEARING: SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCE IN THE 2016 U.S. ELECTION

January 1, 2018

social media election interference national security disinformation Russia technology regulation

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The Frame

What this does

This hearing addresses the vulnerability of U.S. democratic processes to foreign digital interference, potentially leading to new federal regulations or security requirements for major social media platforms.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Social Media Companies

These companies are subject to congressional oversight and potential future regulation regarding how they manage foreign influence on their platforms.

U.S. Voters

Voters are the target audience for the disinformation campaigns discussed, and their access to information may be impacted by future platform policy changes.

What changed

Last recorded activity January 1, 2018.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence held a hearing with executives from Facebook, Twitter, and Google to examine how foreign actors used their platforms to spread during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The committee sought to understand the extent of foreign influence and the steps these companies are taking to prevent future exploitation of their services.

Key Facts

The hearing took place on November 1, 2017, as the seventeenth open hearing of the committee that year.
This was the twelfth hearing held by the committee specifically regarding Russia's activities.
The committee examined the use of automated accounts and falsified stories by foreign actors to influence U.S. sentiment.
The committee requested information on how social media companies are reducing vulnerabilities to foreign interference.
Chairman Burr stated that the committee's investigation into election interference is complex and not limited to a single narrative regarding the election outcome.
Witnesses included the General Counsels or VPs from Facebook, Twitter, and Google.
The hearing included the submission of supplemental materials, including exhibits from committee members and answers to questions for the record.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the purpose of this hearing?

To assess how foreign actors used social media platforms to spread and influence public sentiment during the 2016 U.S. election.

Which companies were asked to testify?

Facebook, Twitter, and Google were represented by their respective General Counsels or Vice Presidents.

Why It Matters

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Increased Congressional Oversight of Tech

The hearing marks a significant shift toward treating social media platforms as critical infrastructure for national security.

Facebook Twitter Google Select Committee on Intelligence

Connected Entities

personMark R. Warner“Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence”Map →

personColin Stretch“Vice President and General Counsel at Facebook”Map →

personKent Walker“Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Google”Map →

personRichard Burr“Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence”Map →

organizationSelect Committee on Intelligence“U.S. Senate committee conducting the hearing”Map →

personSean Edgett“General Counsel at Twitter”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance95
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy80
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment40
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz30
Current news / social attention level

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