Facebook, Twitter CEOs to testify post-election: U.S. Senate panel

[October 24, 2020]    By Richard Cowan and Nandita Bose

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee said on Friday the chief executives of Twitter Inc and Facebook Inc will testify before the panel on Nov. 17 over their decision to block stories that made claims about Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's son.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg listens to a question about his company's policies on extremists and hate speech on the Facebook platform from Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) as he testifies remotely via videoconference during a U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law hearing on "Online Platforms and Market Power" in this screengrab made from video as the committee meets on Capitol Hill, in Washington, U.S., July 29, 2020. U.S. House Judiciary Committee via REUTERS

The Judiciary committee voted on Thursday to subpoena the two CEOs.

The executives will testify on allegations of anti-conservative bias, the committee said. The companies have come under heavy criticism from conservatives over their decision to flag two New York Post stories as spreading disinformation.

The CEOs of Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet Inc will also testify before the Senate Commerce Committee on Oct. 28 about a key law protecting internet companies.

Republican President Donald Trump and many Republican lawmakers have continued to criticize tech companies for allegedly stifling conservative voices. Both hearings are aimed at discussing the issue.

(Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Chris Reese and Richard Chang)

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