The House Intelligence Committee will hear from security leaders of Facebook, Twitter and Google on Thursday in a virtual hearing to discuss possible election interference.
Committee chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., told Axios he is concerned that President Donald Trump’s recent attacks on the tech companies could pose a challenge to lawmakers who are trying to work alongside the social media companies to gain information.
Schiff told Axios that he hopes the president’s criticism of some of the companies won’t have an impact on Congress' and the intelligence community's ability to learn more about possible election interference.
Trump recently issued an executive order that limits legal protections awarded to social media companies.
"The president has been a tremendous beneficiary of how many of these social media algorithms function," Schiff told Axios. "There's probably been no bigger beneficiary than the president to the degree that there are rampant untruths on social media. So it's ironic he should take issue with social media companies. But of course, he's approaching that from a completely different perspective. He's angry that they're pointing out the falsity of what he has to say. Whereas many on the Democratic side of the aisle are angry that they have not done more on that, not just for President Trump but for other bad actors. "
Thursday’s hearing on foreign influence and election security is meant to help educate lawmakers and the public about election security threats before November’s presidential election.
Schiff said lawmakers will hear what the platforms are seeing in relation to the spread of misinformation both domestically and internationally. He said there likely will be a focus on China’s spread of misinformation, especially over coronavirus origins.
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