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Read. Follow. Verify.Senate Hearing on Foreign Influence Operations on Social Media
Record date · January 1, 2019
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What This Bill Does
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence held a hearing with executives from Facebook and Twitter to discuss how foreign actors use social media platforms to conduct . The hearing focused on the companies' efforts to identify and remove accounts engaged in .
This hearing addresses the vulnerability of social media platforms to foreign interference, which impacts the integrity of public discourse and democratic processes in the United States.
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Social Media Users
Users are subject to platform policies regarding content moderation and the removal of accounts deemed to be engaged in inauthentic behavior.
Facebook and Twitter
The companies are required to report on their security operations and face congressional scrutiny regarding their role in preventing foreign influence.
Key Facts
- The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence held an open hearing on September 5, 2018, regarding foreign influence operations on social media.
- Facebook and Twitter executives testified regarding their platforms' roles in identifying and removing foreign influence operations.
- Facebook removed 652 pages, groups, and accounts for coordinated manipulation and inauthentic behavior.
- Twitter removed 284 accounts for coordinated manipulation and inauthentic behavior.
Show all 6 facts
- The committee acknowledged Google's internal security teams for their work in disrupting influence operations.
- This was the fourth and final hearing conducted by the committee on the subject of foreign influence operations on social media.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why were Facebook and Twitter executives called to testify?
Did Google participate in this hearing?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Bias ratings based on AllSides / Media Bias/Fact Check
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceFull breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Increased Scrutiny of Tech Platforms
The hearing marks a transition toward more precise and candid language by the Senate regarding the responsibility of social media companies in national security.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.govinfo.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance85How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy60Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment40Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz50Current news / social attention level
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