October 31, 2017 - 12:08 PM
WASHINGTON - The Latest on congressional hearings on Russia-linked posts on social media (all times local):
2:45 p.m.
Congress has opened the first of three hearings on Russia-linked posts on Facebook, Google and Twitter and evidence of interference with the 2016 presidential election.
Top lawyers from the three companies are appearing before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Tuesday.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says that while social media was useful during the campaign, the platforms are being used by people who "wish us harm and wish to undercut our way of life."
Graham says the purpose of the hearing is for the government to "figure out how we can help" the tech companies.
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8:07 a.m.
Major tech companies plan to tell Congress Tuesday that they have found additional evidence of Russian activity on their services surrounding the 2016 U.S. election.
Facebook, for instance, says a Russian group posted more than 80,000 times on its service during and after the election, potentially reaching as many as 126 million users. The company plans to disclose these numbers to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the testimony. The person declined to be named because the committee has not officially released the testimony.
Twitter plans to tell the same committee that it has uncovered and shut down 2,752 accounts linked to the same group, Russia's Internet Research Agency, which is known for promoting pro-Russian government positions.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017