Facebook, Google, Twitter asked about energy ads bought by Russians

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Facebook Inc., speaks during an event in Menlo Park, California.

It’s not just political advertising bought by Russians that has U.S. internet companies in hot water in Washington.

Congress has asked Alphabet unit Google, Facebook and Twitter for information on any Russian-bought ads that either attempted to manipulate U.S. energy markets or criticized fossil fuel production here, according to a new report.

Republican Lamar Smith of Texas, the chairman of the Committee on Science, Space and Technology, said officials at the technology firms have said in phone calls that they will provide the information “soon,” Bloomberg reported.

Smith sent letters to the companies’ CEOs on Sept. 27, seeking documents or communication related to those issues or other social media content on their sites “advocating for so-called green energy initiatives.”

Read the full report here.

Emails sent to the companies seeking comment on Smith’s statement weren’t immediately returned.

Last week, officials from all three companies were grilled by House and Senate committees over ads used by a Russian propaganda unit to influence last year’s U.S. election.