Facebook officials will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee as part of its ongoing probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
A Facebook source confirmed to the Washington Examiner the social media company would appear before the committee. It’s unclear, though, who from Facebook will testify Nov. 1.
The company has come under mounting scrutiny for its role in Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg initially called claims that fake news promoted on the platform influenced the election a “crazy idea.” But last month, Facebook revealed roughly 3,000 ads were purchased by 470 fake accounts tied to a Russian troll farm during the campaign.
The company turned over the ads to Congress on Monday, but they haven’t been disclosed to the public.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., said at a press conference Wednesday the committee would not release the ads, but they urged Facebook to do so instead.
“We don’t release documents provided to our committee, period,” the Republican senator said. “It’s not a practice that we’re going to get into. Clearly, if any of the social media platforms would like to do that, we’re fine with them doing it because we’ve already got scheduled an open hearing. We believe that the American people deserve to know firsthand.”
Warner agreed.
“At the end of the day, it’s important that the public sees these ads,” he said.
In addition to Facebook, the Senate Intelligence Committee invited Twitter and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, to testify.
Twitter confirmed to Axios a representative would answer questions from the panel. Alphabet hasn’t said whether it will attend the hearing.
