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2032d ago / 2:26 PM UTC

Alex Jones enters Senate Intel hearing room

NBC News correspondent Jo Ling Kent is in the hearing room and has an update on Alex Jones: He's entered the room and is sitting in the audience.

2032d ago / 4:38 PM UTC

And that's a wrap!

And that's a wrap on the hearing.

Sandberg and Dorsey faced deliberate questions from representatives on a range of key technical, policy and philosophical issues, logging several important answers for the record.

Perhaps the hearing's most important accomplishment was showcasing to the public the growing contrition by the social media companies and the desire to collaborate with other groups as well as their fellow tech companies. And over and over again, they expressed remorse and acknowledged they hadn’t done enough to stop foreign influence operations, and begged for government and third party “tips” to spot more.

But fundamentally the platforms remain committed to their idea of being neutral platforms who do not arbitrate truth, they simply decide whether “information” is more or less visible. When asked to take a stand on WikiLeaks and Julian Assange, who have been identified as hostile non-state actors, both Sandberg and Dorsey said the accounts haven't been removed because they don’t violate the companies' policies.

Though American-born and benefiting from U.S. free speech and telecommunications laws, the companies now exist on a global level that can in some ways surpass the reach of the elected representatives from its country of origin.

Dorsey is headed over to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, where he will almost inevitably face questions about perceived liberal bias at Twitter. 

Google could face some blowback over its no show. Many senators seemed legitimately angry that the company had not sent a senior executive.

Thanks for joining us!

2032d ago / 2:58 PM UTC

Could Americans really be moving away from Facebook?

Despite its many controversies, Facebook has maintained some sense of invincibility. But maybe it shouldn't.

As Sandberg testifies, there's increasing buzz on social media over this new Pew Research report that found 42 percent of U.S. adults said they have taken a break from the social network in the last year.

Beyond that, a staggering 26 percent said they had deleted the app from their smartphones.

Pew's research was conducted from late May to early June in 2018, which is a time period not long after the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke. 

That said, Facebook still owns two other popular apps — Instagram and WhatsApp. 

2032d ago / 2:44 PM UTC

Tech stocks tumble as Sandberg, Dorsey testify

The tech-heavy Nasdaq stock index is headed towards its worst day for a month as tech leaders testify.

Twitter shares were the hardest hit, losing more than 6 percent. Facebook shares also declined, off 1.6 percent in mid-morning trading. Google's parent company, Alphabet, dropped 2.2 percent. 

Tech companies dragged down the overall Nasdaq, with the index down 1.5 percent, dipping below 8,000. 

2032d ago / 2:36 PM UTC

Sen. Wyden gets a 'yes' on personal privacy as a matter of national security

In one of the more straightforward exchanges, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Or., asks if protecting personal privacy protection is a national security priority. 

"Yes," is the answer from Sandberg and Dorsey. 

The notion of personal digital privacy as a matter of national security would open up some interesting ideas about the government's role in regulating how social media companies handle user data.

2032d ago / 2:31 PM UTC

Warner pushes Sandberg on data collection

Sen. Warner pressed Facebook’s Sandberg to get several answers on the record. For instance, should users get notified what the cash value of their data?

Sandberg didn’t answer directly, saying the company would be willing to work with the committee. Warner asked if there are certain pieces of data that a user should not be able to consent away to Facebook. Sandberg said yes, like in the case of data that would come up during a law enforcement investigation.

Finally, Warner asked, “does Facebook have a moral and legal obligation to take down accounts that incite violence,” citing the genocidal violence in Myanmar against Rohingya Muslims, exacerbated by racist hoaxes spread on Facebook and its owned messaging app, WhatsApp.

Sandberg agreed Facebook did have a moral and legal obligation to take down such content, leading Warner to say that if Facebook did it and other companies did not, then that could be the basis for sanctions against those companies.

2032d ago / 2:19 PM UTC

Could Twitter label bots? Maybe!

A line of questioning from Sen. Warner has already turned up an interesting notion — that Twitter could label which accounts are bots and which are humans.

Of course, it's not easy. Dorsey noted that bots can be masked, but added that they are looking at a system to give users a better idea of what's behind the avatars. 

"We can label them," Dorsey said. "It's really a question of implementation. We are interested in it, and we are going to do something along those lines."

2032d ago / 1:28 PM UTC

Sen. Mark Warner has plenty to talk about

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., has released his opening statement. The most important part is the questions Warner is hoping to pose, which he included below. As you can see, he's not just interested in foreign interference. 

The questions:

  • Don’t your users have a right to know when they are interacting with bots on your platform? 
  • Isn’t there a public interest in ensuring more anonymized data is available to researchers and academics to help identify potential problems and misuse?
  • Why are your terms of service so difficult to find and nearly impossible to read, much less understand?
  • Why shouldn’t we adopt ideas like data portability, data minimization, or first party consent?
  • After witnessing numerous episodes of misuse, what further accountability should there be with respect to the flawed advertising model that you utilize? 
2032d ago / 1:05 PM UTC

Welcome to the Senate Intel Committee live blog!

Good morning and welcome to the NBC News live blog of Wednesday's Senate Intelligence Committee hearing! We're excited to cover what should be one of the more momentous public testimonies in the history of modern technology, and we'll bring you all the background, context and in-the-room anecdotes we can find. 

A quick reminder of why we're here: With the U.S. 2018 midterm elections just about two months away, there's a renewed focus on just what technology and social media companies are doing to stop foreign actors from spreading divisive propaganda and manipulating the political discourse. Facebook, Twitter, Google and Reddit have all announced recent actions against what they found to be foreign influence campaigns, and beyond that there have already been reports of attempts to hack into various political campaigns. 

Who is attending: Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey are scheduled to testify. The most notable absence is anyone from Google. The Senate Intel Committee had hoped to hear from either Larry Page, CEO of Alphabet, the parent company of Google, or Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google. The company had offered to send its chief legal officer, but the committee has balked at that. There reportedly could be an empty seat next to Sandberg and Dorsey.

What's going to happen: Though the title of the hearing centers on foreign influence, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., who is vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, plans to touch on a wide variety of topics including possibly policy solutions to some of tech's privacy issues.