Some of the technology industry’s top executives are ready to spar with the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday.
Starting at 9:30 a.m. ET, Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey will face a grilling during an open hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Both executives are expected to give a statement on their companies and the actions they’re taking to stop the spread of misinformation on their services. Senators will also have an opportunity to interview them and ask how Facebook and Twitter are combating misinformation, among other topics.
Facebook and Twitter, among other social media services, have been facing increasing scrutiny over the last couple of years for the sheer amount of fake, misleading, and conspiratorial content on their sites. The companies have tried to make efforts to limit the spread of that content and have argued that they’re taking steps to safeguard their services and their users.
Politicians and pundits on both sides of the aisle, however, worry that social sites have become overrun with harmful content. And they’re increasingly calling on Facebook and Twitter to improve their monitoring and implement safeguards against certain kinds of information.
It’s unknown how contentious the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing might be on Wednesday. But considering the political impact of misinformation and the fact that midterm elections are just two months away, the hearing might be one to watch.