Senate Democrat tells Facebook to preserve digital evidence of the Capitol riots

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Her. Mark WarnerMark Robert Warner Hillicon Valley: Facebook Extends Trump’s Suspension Until Inauguration Day | Trump removes tweets leading to bailout from Twitter | Federal judiciary likely to be compromised as part of SolarWinds hack Warner says foreign opponents have ‘gained more’ from Capitol riot than from SolarWinds hack Facebook extends Trump’s suspension to at least Biden inauguration MORE (D-Va.), The likely new chair of the Senate intelligence committee, is calling on mobile carriers and social media companies to preserve content and data related to Wednesday’s pro-Trump riot at the Capitol.

Warner’s office announced Saturday that the Senate Democrat had sent letters to CEOs of 11 companies, including AT&T, Verizon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Twitter and Parler, telling them to “immediately preserve content and associated metadata associated with the insurgent. Wednesday’s attack on the United States Capitol. “

“The United States 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 find out what happened and the perpetrators involved. The prospect of a lawsuit on behalf of the victims of the chaos is also very likely. “

Warner told the CEOs, “Sending data to and from your subscribers who may have participated in or assisted those involved in this uprising – and the associated subscriber data – is crucial evidence to bring these rioters to justice. “

Participants in Wednesday’s mob, with rioters inundating Capitol Police and searchers throughout 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 Spreads Procedures For Second Senate Trial Over Trump Impeachment Trump Proposes Building Own Platform Following Twitter Ban Poll: 18 Percent of Republicans Support Capitol Riots MORE‘s statements after he made statements amid and following the chaos in the Capitol that platforms say could have led to further violence.

The letters from Warner, a former telecommunications entrepreneur, came after he criticized social media companies this week, arguing that the actions taken by platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to further spread Trump’s disputed claims of a ‘stolen’ to avoid election ‘too late and not nearly enough. ”

“Researchers of disinformation and extremism have for years pointed to a broader network-based exploitation of these platforms,” ​​said Warner, who currently serves as vice chair of the intelligence committee. said in a statement Thursday.

Police have made dozens of arrests in the wake of Wednesday’s chaos, and FBI and Justice Department officials said Friday they are pooling all available resources to investigate hundreds of potential suspects.

Trump supporters used social media to discuss the possibility of violence in the days leading up to the Capitol riot, and experts say so increasingly popular right-wing sites could pose an even greater risk to the road, as conspiracy theories could provoke some into violent action.

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