| DEMS PRESS TWITTER, FACEBOOK ON RUSSIAN BOTS: Top-ranking Democrats in the House and the Senate are calling on Twitter and Facebook to launch investigations of potential Russian-linked accounts that are pushing for the release of a controversial congressional memo. The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.), and the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey asking that they "provide a public report to Congress and the American public by January 26" on the matter. Facebook and Twitter confirmed receipt of the letter. "Twitter is committed to addressing malicious activity on our platform, and we take any assertions of such activity very seriously. We look forward to working closely with Senator Feinstein and Congressman Schiff to address their questions," a Twitter spokesperson said. The memo in question was drafted by House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) and is believed by some Republicans to show political bias in the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ) probe of potential links between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. Schiff and Feinstein in their letter cited data by the German Marshall Fund's Alliance for Securing Democracy, which found that Russian bots on Twitter were advocating for legislators to make the memo public. A source familiar with Twitter's analytics, though, said "the hashtags appear to be organically trending," and not the result of a Russian-led influence campaign. The senators expressed concern that attempts by Russian actors to influence the release of the memo "are intended to influence congressional action and undermine Special Counsel [Robert] Mueller's investigation," of the possible Trump campaign ties to Russia. "It is critically important that the Special Counsel's investigation be allowed to proceed without interference from inside or outside the United States," the California lawmakers wrote. "That is why we seek your assistance in our efforts to counter Russia's continuing efforts to manipulate public opinion and undermine American democracy and the rule of law." Read more here. Please send your tips, comments and compliments to Ali Breland (abreland@thehill.com) and Harper Neidig (hneidig@thehill.com) and follow us on Twitter: @alibreland and @hneidig. We're also on Signal and WhatsApp. Email or DM us for our numbers. UK REGULATOR LOOKS TO BLOCK MURDOCH TAKEOVER OF SKY NEWS: United Kingdom (U.K.) regulators are recommending that the government block 21st Century Fox from taking over Sky TV, dealing a major blow to billionaire Rupert Murdoch's media empire. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced Tuesday that it found the $15.4 billion bid to be "not in the public interest" because it would give the Murdoch family trust "too much control" over news and public opinion in the U.K., according to a statement from the agency. "Due to its control of News Corp, the Murdoch family already has significant influence over public opinion and full ownership of Sky by Fox would strengthen this even further," the watchdog said in the release, adding that Murdoch's outlets are "watched, read or heard by nearly a third of the UK's population." Read more here. TECH GIANTS HAD RECORD LOBBYING YEAR: The five biggest tech companies in the U.S. collectively spent nearly $60 million on federal lobbying in 2017. Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft combined spent a record $58 million on advocacy in Washington during a year in which the sector was heavily scrutinized over its size and influence. Google led the pack, spending $18 million lobbying on everything from copyright law to wind power to internet privacy -- up from $15.4 million in 2016. The internet giant also advocated on antitrust issues as it was hit with a record $2.9 billion fine from the European Union for favoring its own comparison shopping service in its search results. Read more here. FEDS TO PROBE TESLA CRASH: The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Tuesday announced it will dispatch two investigators to launch a field probe into a crash involving a Tesla vehicle reportedly operating on autopilot. The safety agency said the investigation will focus on "driver and vehicle factors." The investigators are expected to arrive in Culver City, Calif., the site of the crash on Wednesday. According to The Mercury News, a Tesla Model S crashed into a parked fire truck while traveling on Interstate 405 on Monday. The Culver City Firefighters union wrote on Twitter that the driver in the Tesla said the vehicle was operating on Autopilot. Read more here. UBER HIRES CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER: Uber is hiring Bo Young Lee to be its first-ever chief diversity and inclusion officer. Lee is currently the global head of diversity and inclusion at financial services firm Marsh & McLennan. She is slated to fill the new role at Uber in March, according to the company, and will work out of Uber's New York office. She is the third executive hired under new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, following chief legal officer Tony West and chief operating officer Barney Harford, and represents another step forward as the company rebuilds its top ranks. Read more here. FACEBOOK EXEC TO RETIRE, HELP DEMS IN MIDTERMS: A top Facebook executive announced this week that he would be stepping down from the company in part to focus on helping Democrats in this year's midterm elections. Gary Briggs, Facebook's chief marketing officer (CMO), wrote in a post on Monday that he also plans to advise some companies and will consider teaching in his retirement. "We're going to travel some and start to split our time in and out of the Bay Area and Seattle," Briggs wrote, referring to his family's plans. "And I plan to help the Democratic Party on some efforts leading up to the US midterms this year through to 2020." Read more here. ON TAP: The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a field hearing on automotive innovation at the Washington Convention Center at 10 a.m. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Financial Times: European advertisers urge Facebook and Google to set up standards body Bloomberg: Twitter COO Anthony Noto resigns to become chief executive of SoFi Reuters: Tesla sets massive stock awards for Musk based on boosting market value The Wall Street Journal: What if children should be spending more time with screens? Axios: Comcast-NBC merger conditions expire, raising anti-competitive fears | 
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