Facebook’s chief to face new test with Europe lawmakers
FACEBOOK CEO Mark Zuckerberg was set to field tough questions on Tuesday from European policymakers who are investigating the social network’s privacy mishaps – and they could seek to make an example out of the company as the region’s new data-protection rules come into effect.
The meeting in Brussels with leaders of the European Parliament marks the latest round of intense scrutiny for Zuckerberg in response to the tech giant’s entanglement with Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy that improperly accessed 87 million Facebook users’ names, “likes” and other personal information.
During the meeting, which will be streamed online, European lawmakers were expected to press Zuckerberg to detail the data that Facebook collects about its users and the ways that information, once in the hands of Cambridge Analytica or others, might have been used to sow social unrest or influence political outcomes.
Zuckerberg was expected to apologise, as he did to the US Congress in April. “Whether it’s fake news, foreign interference in elections or developers misusing people’s information, we didn’t take a broad enough view of our responsibilities. That was a mistake, and I’m sorry,” he planned to say, according to prepared remarks.
Yet Zuckerberg’s face-off with parliament comes three days before the region is set to start enforcing privacy rules, called the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR. In effect, the law requires companies to provide more information to consumers about the data they collect and offer consumers greater ability to opt-out – or face stiff penalties if they fail to meet the mark. Experts anticipate that members of the European Parliament might use the opportunity to brandish their soon-to-be new powers.
“With the Facebook hearing, the Parliament is sending a clear message that enforcement of the new European data protection law will be a top priority,” said Marc Rotenberg, a privacy expert.