WATCH: House panel explores legislation to protect online users, hold Big Tech accountable

The House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing Tuesday about protecting online users and holding tech companies accountable when social media platforms are used in harmful ways.

Watch the hearing in the player above.

A number of pieces of proposed legislation — including the Banning Surveillance Advertising Act of 2022 and the Digital Services Oversight and Safety Act of 2022 — aim to regulate how companies can target users, and give the government greater oversight.

Katie McInnis of Duck Duck Go and Mutale Nkonde, CEO of AI for the People U.S., was among individuals who testified.

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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is forcing big tech companies to decide how to handle state-controlled media outlets that spread propaganda and misinformation on behalf of the invaders.

None of the U.S.-owned tech companies have responded with an outright ban in Russia. Instead they’ve offered more modest changes: limiting the Kremlin’s reach, labeling more of it’s content and prohibiting Russian state media from making money off ads.

Critics want them to go further, but experts say that cutting off social media would make it harder for citizens to learn about the invasion, voice their opinion or organize protests.

“The tech platforms right now are really doing a delicate dance in terms of I think it’s important for them to stay operational in Russia, as it’s one of the few tools that Russian activists can use that is not controlled by state media. It’s one of the few ways of trying to get information out to counter what is coming from the Russian government. And so they are trying to both stand up to the country, but also not go so far that Putin just pulls the plug on them being available,” said Katie Harbath, a former Facebook policy official and now director of technology and democracy at International Republican Institute.