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Facebook, Twitter CEOs in talks to testify at House hearing as early as March: Politico

[February 13, 2021] (Reuters) - The chief executives of Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc are in talks with House of Representatives lawmakers to testify at a hearing as early as next month, Politico reported https://politi.co/2Zcuwf8 on Friday, citing people familiar with the plans.

The exact focus of the hearing is not yet clear, the report said.

Facebook has discussed making its chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, available to appear before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the report said, citing two people. Twitter and its chief, Jack Dorsey, have discussed the same, Politico said, citing one person.

The Politico report said the appearance of the Facebook and Twitter CEOs could be contingent on them testifying jointly alongside Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google and its parent company, Alphabet Inc.

A firm date has not yet been set for hearing, but it could come as early as March, the report said, citing sources.

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Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is seen testifying remotely via videoconference during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled, "Breaking the News: Censorship, Suppression, and the 2020 Election," on Facebook and Twitter's content moderation practices, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., November 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/Pool

Facebook and Google did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. The House Energy and Commerce Committee and Twitter declined to comment.

All three chiefs appeared at a hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee in October. Republican lawmakers questioned them about their content moderation decisions while Democrats primarily focused on insufficient actions against misinformation that interfered with the election.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler and Jane Merriman)

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