Washington: The road to understanding Russia's election meddling runs through the technology industry.
That appears to be one conclusion drawn by congressional investigators who, seeking to illuminate a far-reaching Russian campaign to foment division and undermine confidence in democracy during the 2016 election cycle, have increasingly turned their attention to the role of major tech platforms. And it is putting major Silicon Valley players in the hot seat.
Three companies that together wield massive influence over how information circulates – Twitter, Facebook and Google – have been in the news for drawing the focus of lawmakers, and the reckoning is unlikely to end soon. Congress has called for representatives of all three to appear during an open hearing.
Google has launched a broad investigation into whether Russian actors used the company to try and influence voters, according to the Wall Street Journal, which reported that Google was in contact with congressional officials and planned to share its findings. Earlier this week, Twitter's policy chief travelled to Capitol Hill to brief Congress on how Russia used the social media platform to project its influence.