The US Department of Justice is looking into whether social media platforms "may be hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platforms". The announcement was made after Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg appeared at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing to discuss foreign meddling on social media.
The DoJ said Attorney General Jeff Sessions will meet with state AGs later this month to discuss social media. The meeting with the state attorneys general, which was planned before the Senate hearing but not previously announced, is tentatively scheduled for 25 September in Washington, a person familiar with the plans told the Washington Post.
The DoJ did not say whether it plans any specific legal action against the social media companies. Its statement follows recent threats from the White House to take action against Google for alleged political bias in its search results. During the Senate hearing, Dorsey also came in for questions over whether Twitter is biased against conservatives, a claim the CEO denied.
