Typing on a computer (illustrative). Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

A bipartisan group of Congress members sent a letter to the heads of three social media giants on Tuesday seeking answers to a number of questions regarding the online activities of foreign terrorist groups.

The missive — penned by Congressmen Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Tom Reed (R-NY) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) — was addressed to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki.

“We need to be exploring every option to stop these foreign terrorist groups, including Hezbollah, Hamas and other radicals, from spewing their hate and their extremist views to the masses,” Gottheimer stated on Tuesday. “I want to make sure Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are doing enough to get these terrorist accounts and their propaganda off these platforms. These tech companies need to be standing with us in our global fight against terror.”

Reed noted, “We care about ensuring terrorist organizations cannot spew extremism and hate on the internet. There is no fair reason for Twitter, Facebook, or any other online platform, to allow terrorist to post their propaganda and incite further fear after their cowardly attacks. This is why the American people deserve to know what social media companies are doing to eliminate the use of their websites for terrorist organizations.”

Fitzpatrick pointed out, “In today’s interconnected world, it is all too easy for nefarious organizations to capitalize on the availability of social media to promote their misguided and immoral goals. Congress must partner with the private sector to ensure that hateful groups are not given the platforms they so desperately want. Moreover, it is imperative that tech companies work with government officials to eliminate the online presence of foreign terrorist organizations.”