US lawmakers ask tech companies to archive evidence of potential Russian war crimes

Four Democratic lawmakers on Thursday asked the CEOs of YouTube, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc to archive content that could be used as evidence of suspected Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

Ukraine and the West say Russian troops have committed war crimes in its 11-week invasion of its neighbor, in which thousands of civilians have been killed. Russia denies the allegations and says it does not target civilians.

In a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the lawmakers, including the leaders of the House Oversight and Foreign Affairs committees, Carolyn Maloney and Gregory Meeks, encouraged the company to preserve content posted on its sites.

That content "could potentially be used as evidence as the US government and international human rights and accountability monitors investigate Russian war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other atrocities in Ukraine," the letter said.

The letters were also signed by two subcommittee chairmen, William Keating and Stephen Lynch.

The UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution on Thursday to establish an investigation into possible war crimes by Russian troops in places near the capital Kyiv and beyond, a move that Russia said amounted to political score-settling.