Facebook, Twitter get lashing on Capitol Hill – and brownie points for showing up

Jack Dorsey, co-founder and chief executive officer of Twitter Inc., speaks as Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook Inc., left, listens during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have increased pressure on technology companies on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign and other election meddling as well as issues including alleged anti-conservative bias and antitrust questions. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

US lawmakers on Capitol Hill had no shortage of complaints for Facebook and Twitter at a hearing Sept 5. They decried the platforms' vulnerability to foreign influence, their arcane handling of user data and the perception that they buried conservative voices. 

But members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence agreed the companies deserved credit for at least one thing: they showed up.