Facebook CEO faces EU grilling regarding his ‘digital monster’
BRUSSELS — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg faced tough questions from European Union lawmakers Tuesday over what one of them branded Zuckerberg’s “digital monster,” and he apologized for the way the social network has been used to produce fake news, interfere in elections and sweep up people’s personal data.
At a hearing in the European Parliament in Brussels, legislators sought explanations about the growing number of false Facebook accounts and whether Facebook will comply with new EU privacy rules, but many were left frustrated by Zuckerberg’s lack of answers.
After short opening remarks, Zuckerberg listened to all the questions first, and then responded to them all at once. There was no back-andforth with lawmakers, as happened during his testimony in front of the U.S. Congress last month.
As a result, he was able to avoid giving some answers and ran out of time to provide others.
His appearance came at a difficult time for Facebook. In March it was alleged that political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica used the data of millions of Facebook users to target voters during political campaigns, including the one that brought Donald Trump to the presidency.
Whether it was “fake news, foreign interference in elections and developers misusing people’s information,” Zuckerberg said, “we didn’t take a broad enough view of our responsibilities.”
“That was a mistake, and I’m sorry for it,” he added during the hearing, which ran just over an hour and a half.
But liberal leader Guy Verhofstadt said Zuckerberg has done enough apologizing for his company’s mistakes. He said the real question is: “Are you capable to fix it?”
Verhofstadt asked whether Zuckerberg wanted to be remembered like computer legends Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, “who have enriched our world and our societies,” or as “a genius who created a digital monster that is destroying our democracies and our societies.”
Asked whether Facebook is ready to respect the rules, Zuckerberg said: “We do expect to be fully compliant” on Friday.
The evening hearing was initially meant to be held behind closed doors but was broadcast live after many in the assembly demanded an open session.