Google will testify before Congress with Facebook and Twitter, too
Google will testify before Congress on Nov. 1, joining Facebook and Twitter representatives to answer questions on Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Representatives from the tech giants will answer Congress's questions about the 2016 election in a public forum for the first time. The companies have each cooperated with federal investigators privately and held meetings with lawmakers behind closed doors.
Facebook was the first tech giant to publicly agree to testify earlier this month. The decision arrived just as Sen. Richard Burr and Sen. Mark Warner held a press conference on Oct. 4 to provide updates on their investigation on Russia's interference. Twitter agreed shortly thereafter.
A Bloomberg report Thursday profiling Google CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed Google's participation. A Google spokesperson confirmed the report to Mashable.
“There’s clearly stuff which shouldn’t be happening which happened, so we should fix it,” Pichai told Bloomberg. “Anytime we make a mistake, it’s very public for the world to see.”
Google had turned over evidence to the federal investigation, which included $4,700 in ads tied to the Russian government, The New York Times reported. Google investigators discovered Russian-linked accounts bought political ads on YouTube and Google AdWords.
The companies have not said which executives will take the stand.
Kerry Flynn is a business reporter for Mashable covering the tech industry. She previously reported on social media companies, mobile apps and startups for International Business Times. She has also written for The Huffington Post, Forbes and Money magazine. Kerry studied environmental science and economics at Harvard College, where she led The Harvard Crimson's metro news and design teams and played mellophone in the Band. When not listening to startup pitches, she runs half-marathons, plays with puppies and pretends to like craft beer.
