US: Tech Industry Hearings to start Wednesday

Executives from Facebook, Twitter and Google are likely to face questions about political content, antitrust concerns and consumer privacy at hearings that begin Wednesday, reported the Wall Street Journal.

Wednesday’s hearings before the Senate Intelligence Committee are expected to include Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and a representative of Google, as yet unconfirmed. Later in the day, the House Commerce Committee will examine Mr. Dorsey, whose platform has been a focus of many Republicans’ ire.

The hearings will likely highlight the industry’s political troubles, and point to practices that might be addressed in legislation or executive action in the months and years ahead, the Journal reported.

Another hearing in early October, by a Senate Judiciary subcommittee, will focus on antitrust concerns, a big portion of which is likely to delve into the overwhelming market dominance of a handful of internet companies.

Atop this week’s Senate committee hearing agenda will be the efforts of the tech platforms to stamp out foreign election interference. The committee has been investigating Russia’s multipronged campaign to influence the 2016 election for the past year and a half.