Twitter To Talk To U.S. Congress Panels In Russia Probe

Representatives of social-media giant Twitter will visit the U.S. Congress on September 28 as part of House and Senate investigations into possible Russian interference in the 2016 elections.

Twitter's closed-door meetings follow briefings from Facebook earlier this month.

The House and Senate panels have invited both tech giants, along with Google, to appear at public hearings in the coming months.

The committees are investigating the spread of false news stories and propaganda on social media, the level of Russian involvement, and if people or entities in the United States helped target those stories.

Facebook and Twitter use different types of platforms.

Users can register anonymously on Twitter, which has more public accounts than Facebook.

Some U.S. lawmakers have voiced concerns about the proliferation of anonymous "bots" on Twitter and their potential to spread misinformation.

Twitter last week confirmed that officials would be meeting with the Senate panel and issued a statement pledging to improve its defenses.

Twitter is likely to face questions about the bots and also about some of the potential vulnerabilities in terms of tracing potential foreign intrusions.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP