Facebook’s boss struggles through quiz by US senators
MARK Zuckerberg was last night repeatedly unable to answer basic questions about Facebook when grilled by American politicians.
The stony-faced billionaire told senators many times that his team would have to ‘follow up’ on vital privacy issues such as whether his social network was able to access the message and call logs of children as young as 13.
When Mr Zuckerberg was asked whether he would feel ‘comfortable’ telling Congress the hotel he was staying in and who he messaged, his answer was no.
Senator Dick Durbin told him: ‘This may be what this is all about: How much you give away in modern America in the name of “connecting people all over the world”.’
Mr Zuckerberg, who has refused requests to appear before MPs in Britain, started the hearing by telling Congress ‘I’m sorry’ after panel chairman John Thune told him Facebook had violated its users’ privacy. In the first 90 minutes, Mr Zuckerberg told senators scores of times he would have to ‘get back’ to them.
Asked whether the network could collect phone logs of children aged between 13 to 17, the 33-year- old said he would ‘get my team to follow up afterward’. Even in the first few minutes, he was unable to provide answers to two questions, telling the chairman he did not have ‘the exact information’.
Senator Thune told Mr Zuckerberg his company had a 14-year history of apologising for illadvised decisions, asking: ‘How is today’s apology different?’ He answered: ‘I think it’s pretty much impossible, I believe, to start a company in your dorm room and then grow it to be at the scale that we’re at now without making some mistakes.’
Asked if Facebook was safe, Mr Zuckerberg said: ‘I think Facebook is safe – I use it, my family use it. The people I love and care about use it all the time.’
The tech boss, who wore a suit and tie rather than his usual Tshirt and casual trousers, was also asked about young people becoming hooked on social media. He answered: ‘This is certainly something I think any parent thinks about – how much do you want your kids viewing technology.’
When one senator suggested children were being left to ‘the most rapacious commercial predators in the country’, Mr Zuckerberg replied: ‘I look forward to having my team follow up.’
It was claimed last night that British data firm Cambridge Analytica was able to read Facebook users’ private messages. The firm, which harvested data through its links with Facebook, strongly denied the claim.
The social network estimates that as many as 87million people – one million in the Uk – could be affected by the wider data breach and yesterday notified users, telling them whether their profiles had been used after filling in a personality quiz.
The Facebook chief, who is worth around £45billion, said that as a result of the CA breach his company would investigate tens of thousands of apps.
He admitted he did not alert regulators because he had wrongly believed it to be a ‘closed case’.
Scores of social media users mocked the billionaire, with one tweeting: ‘2018 – the first robot testified before Congress.’