Mark Zuckerberg says he is still the best person to lead company
SAN FRANCISCO/SYDNEY: Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg has said he remains the best person to lead the social network despite acknowledging mistakes i n underestimating abuse of the platform.
Zuckerberg told reporters on a conference call on Wednesday that he accepted responsibility for the hijacking of user data and other abuses, but when asked if he remained the best person to lead Facebook, he said “Yes.”
“I think life is about learning from the mistakes and figuring out how to move forward,” he said. “When you’re building something like Facebook which is unprecedented in the world, there are things that you’re going to mess up. What I think people should hold us accountable for is if we are learning from our mistakes.”
Zuckerberg said Facebook did not initially take a “broad enough view” of what it’s responsibility was when it came to protecting user data. “That was a huge mistake,” he said. “It was my mistake.”
When asked if Facebook’s board had discussed whether he should step down, Zuckerberg — the chairman — said he was not aware of any such talks.
Facebook conducted the call just hours after it disclosed that the data of 87 million people may have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica.
AUSTRALIA TO PROBE DATA BREACH
Australia is investigating Facebook over alleged privacy breaches, authorities said on Thursday.
“The investigation will consider whether Facebook has breached the Privacy Act,” acting privacy commissioner Angelene Falk said in a statement.
“Given the global nature of this matter, the OAIC (Office of the Australian Information Commissioner) will confer with regulatory authorities internationally.”
Falk said under Australian law, all organisations had to take “reasonable steps” to ensure personal information was being held securely.