It looks like Silicon Valley execs will be collecting some frequent flyer miles as yet another congressional committee has scheduled a meet and grill with Facebook, Google and Twitter, whose revelations about Russian online political ads targeted at the 2017 presidential election has drawn a concerned crowd inside the Beltway.
Actually in this case, some of those execs, all from the West Coast, will be able to combine trips, though if there are any parents among the witnesses they won't likely make it home for the trick or treaters.
The Senate Judiciary Committee Crime and Terrorism Subcommittee has scheduled a 2:30 p.m. hearing Oct 31, with at least the positive-sounding title of “Extremist Content and Russian Disinformation Online: Working with Tech to Find Solutions."
The senators will be looking for solutions from witnesses Colin Stretch, VP and general counsel at Facebook; Sean Edgett, general counsel at Twitter, and Richard Salgado, director of law enforcement and Information Security.
Twitter and Facebook will be saving on air fares since Edgett and Stretch are already scheduled to testify the day after at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on a similar topic--what they are doing to mitigate potential interference in the 2018 election.
Google will also be represented at that hearing, but by Kent Walker, SVP and general counsel.
