| By Ali Breland and Harper Neidig Tech executives will be heading before Congress in the coming week to testify about their efforts to crack down on extremist content on their platforms. Facebook Head of Global Policy Management Monika Bickert, YouTube Global Head of Public Policy and Government Relations Juniper Downs and Twitter Head of Public Policy and Philanthropy Carlos Monje will appear before the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday. Much of Washington's attention has been focused on how tech companies handled Russian election interference. But Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) said the hearing on terrorist content and social media had been in the works for some time. "We've been talking about it for awhile. We decided to have a hearing on the subject because we think it's a big issue," Thune said to reporters on Thursday. "One of the biggest tools that terrorists use to recruit is social media platforms. We just want to use this as an opportunity to hear from the tech companies about some of the things they're doing to prevent those activities." The top Democrat on the committee, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) agreed, saying that he would like to know more about how companies are trying to keep extremist content off their platforms. Tech companies say they have been taking significant steps to address the issue. Twitter found itself under fire in recent years over the large amount of pro-ISIS content on its platform. The company took steps to target those accounts. In a report in September, Twitter said it had shut down over one million accounts promoting terrorism. The moves earned the company praise in many quarters. But tech companies also face a difficult balancing act, with critics cautioning them against going too far and infringing on free speech. YouTube, for example, is removing videos that don't meet its criteria for extremist content but that are still tied to individuals linked to terrorism. Those tougher standards have sparked concern from civil libertarians. Tech companies are also facing new heat from some lawmakers over Russian interference. On Tuesday, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), criticized Twitter after it failed to meet a deadline to provide the committee with information about Russian interference on its platform in 2016. Facebook and Google met the deadline to provide information, but Twitter sought an extension. "I'm disappointed. I've been disappointed throughout this," Warner told reporters. "Twitter has been often times the slowest to respond. Most of their work was derivative to the Facebook work. The other companies met the deadline which was way over a month from when they testified." Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee also released a report Wednesday challenging the adequacy of Twitter and Facebook's investigations into Russian influence to manipulate the United Kingdom's Brexit vote. Both the House and Senate will be in session in the coming week. While lawmakers will be focused on passing a spending bill to avoid a government shutdown after Jan. 19, there are also a number of tech items on the docket. On Wednesday at 10 a.m., the House Science Committee's space panel will hold a hearing on systems development at NASA. Also on Wednesday, the House Homeland Security Committee will review the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program, an effort to help beef up federal cybersecurity," at 2 p.m. On Thursday, the House Commerce subcommittee on consumer protection will hold a hearing on the Internet of Things and its impact on manufacturing and innovation. That hearing is at 10 a.m. Recent stories: Bill would bar feds from contracting with firms using Huawei, ZTE technology Facebook introduces massive changes to newsfeed Senate report challenges quality of Facebook, Twitter investigations of Russia's Brexit influence FCC delays review of Sinclair's purchase of Tribune Senate committee to hold bitcoin hearing Twitter defends 'enforcing our rules without bias' after undercover video release More than 100 CEOs urge Congress to protect Dreamers Senate Dems' bill would penalize credit reporting agencies for breaches GOP senator presses Apple on phone slowdowns Democrats rush into net neutrality battle Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to testify on Capitol Hill about terrorism and social media Senate bill to preserve net neutrality wins first GOP backer Twitter misses deadline to provide Senate info on Russia meddling | 
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