Senate Democrat asks Facebook to preserve digital evidence of Capitol riot

Senate Democrat asks Facebook to preserve digital evidence of Capitol riot

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Sen. Mark WarnerMark Robert Warner Hillicon Valley: Facebook extends Trump’s suspension at least until Inauguration Day | Trump removes tweets that led to Twitter exclusion | Federal court probably compromised as part of SolarWinds hack Warner says foreign opponents get ‘more’ from Capitol riot than through SolarWinds hack Facebook extends Trump’s suspension to at least Biden inauguration MORE (D-Va.), The likely incoming chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, calls on mobile service providers and companies on social media to preserve content and data related to Trump’s riot at the Capitol on Wednesday.

Warner’s office announced on Saturday that the Senate Democrat had sent letters to CEOs of 11 companies, including AT&T, Verizon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Twitter and Parler, saying they needed “immediate content and associated metadata preserved in connection with Wednesday’s attack on the US Capitol. ”

“The American Capitol is now a crime scene,” Warner wrote the letter. ‘The FBI and other law enforcement agencies are currently investigating the events of that day and trying to put together what happened and those involved. The possibility of lawsuits on behalf of the victims of the chaos is also very likely. ”

Warner told CEOs: ‘Message data from and to your subscribers who may have participated in or assisted those involved in this uprising – and accompanying subscriber information – is critical evidence to put these rioters ahead of the to bring justice. ‘

Participants in Wednesday’s mob, where rioters stormed the Capitol police and looting officers in the historic building, were documented by many on social media.

Platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have taken steps to suspend indefinitely or permanently President TrumpDonald Trump McConnell circulates proceedings for second Senate indictment over Trump Trump proposes to build own platform after Twitter ban: 18 percent of Republicans support MORE in Capitol‘s reports after issuing statements amid the chaos at the Capitol that platforms claim could provoke further violence.

The letters from Warner, a former telecommunications entrepreneur, come after he criticized social media companies this week, arguing that action platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have done further to spread Trump’s controversial claims of a ‘stolen’ to prevent election, ‘too’ late and not nearly enough. ”

“Researchers on disinformation and extremism have been pointing to a wider network-based exploitation of these platforms for years,” said Warner, who currently serves as vice chairman of the intelligence committee. said in a statement Thursday.

Police have already made dozens of arrests following the chaos of Wednesday, and FBI and Justice Department officials said Friday that they are pooling all available resources to look at hundreds of potential suspects.

Trump supporters use social media to discuss the possibility of violence in the days before the riot at the Capitol, and experts say increasingly popular right-wing websites may pose a greater risk along the way, as conspiracy theories may entice some to act violently.

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