Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said tech should cooperate with law enforcement — and help the US fight Russia

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said he believes technology companies that displayed Kremlin-linked ads during the 2016 election could help the United States “retaliate” against Russia. “What we ought to do with regard to the Russians is retaliate, seriously retaliate against the Russians,” Sen McConnell told MSNBC’s Hugh Hewitt. “These tech firms could be helpful in giving us a way to do that.” Sen McConnell did not elaborate on what that retaliation might look like. “I’m a little skeptical of these disclosure-type proposals that are floating around, which strikes me would mostly penalize American citizens at trying to use the internet and to advertise,” said Sen McConnell. He doesn’t believe a special commission is required to look at the broader issue of technology and national security, but recognized that it’s a complex issue. “It certainly would help if the CEOs were willing to testify, but I think it’s a big subject with a lot of national security implications and a lot of First Amendment concerns as well,” Sen McConnell said. “This is a tough area trying to figure out how to balance national security versus the First Amendment."