Sen. Warner Says Schumer Was Aware of Committee’s ‘Relentless’ Facebook Probe

“I’m not going to talk about any private conversations I have with the leader,” Warner said. “He was very aware that our committee has been relentless and still [has] a lot of questions that need to be answered. It was a bipartisan effort.” Asked if the report is true, Warner didn’t comment.

The article reinforces the notion, Warner said, that without the “intelligence community’s constant pressure, we would be even more in the dark. … Clearly, this was the case we suspected, that for a number of months [Facebook] just hoped this problem was going to go away.” The Senate Intelligence Committee should “continue to ask the hard questions of Facebook,” Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., told us.

The report suggests Facebook was slow to address foreign interference before the 2016 election and claims the social network paid consultant Definers to spread misinformation targeting Facebook critics like George Soros. Facebook, which cut ties with the consultant Wednesday, denounced suggestion the platform launched an anti-Semitic attack against critics. The article had inaccuracies, specifically about response to foreign meddling, said Facebook. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during a media call Thursday he learned of his company’s partnership with Definers through The New York Times story. The company’s previous statement said the relationship was “well-known” by media.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told reporters he’s working on another piece of legislation on social media issues, separate from his bill (see 1810050043) with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.: “As soon as the holidays are over, I’ll be ready to talk about it.” He called it a “very simple bill that will get their attention,” and said it’s unclear whether other lawmakers will join. “Facebook is missing the point,” Kennedy added, saying the platform has no standing to complain if it doesn’t offer legislative solutions, and government intervenes.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is happy the House is taking up her anti-corruption bill (see 1808220035), which she hopes will “put a stop to this” kind of behavior. “We have a real problem on lobbying,” she told us. “It’s become a Swiss cheese where the revolving door permits people to work in government, then they get to work on the private side and try to influence everybody in government.”

Send a “real message,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., told reporters, citing his draft privacy bill (see 1811010044), which would jail guilty executives for data misuse. If executives lie to government about consumer privacy, “they should face punishments with real teeth, including major fines and the prospect of jail time," he said. "The enforcement regime today is just a bunch of mush.”

Antitrust law shouldn't be used to address privacy issues, FTC Commissioner Noah Phillips said Thursday at a Technology Policy Institute event. Asked about privacy concerns fueling criticism against platforms like Facebook and Google, Phillips said the U.S. should avoid privacy regulation that further entrenches incumbents that have access to large amounts of data. Large tech companies can better bear the burden of regulatory compliance, so competition should be a priority when considering a new privacy law, he said: “That doesn’t mean that we don’t need to move forward on privacy legislation, but it does mean we need to keep competition top of mind.”

​​​​​​​Facebook can’t be trusted to regulate itself, Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., said Wednesday. The platform should “provide a full accounting under oath of its smear campaign against critics,” Free Press Deputy Director Jessica Gonzalez said Thursday.