I Zucked up!
Facebook big says ‘sorry’ in D.C. for stolen data
THE BUCK stops with Zuck.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg got gussied up Monday in a dark suit and gray tie (photo) to deliver his mea culpa to Congress over a series of screwups, including spreading fake news, leaking private data and aiding Russia’s influence over the 2016 presidential election.
The Harvard dropout sugarcoated the apology by touting the website as an “idealistic and optimistic company” that has helped raise money for disaster relief and propel the #MeToo and March for Our Lives movements.
But he also took the blame for the dark side of Facebook.
“It’s clear now that we didn’t do enough to prevent these tools from being used for harm, as well,” he said in prepared remarks.
In the remarks released by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which he is expected to deliver Wednesday, Zuckerberg apologizes for fake news, hate speech, a lack of data privacy and foreign interference in the 2016 elections on his platform.
“We didn’t take a broad enough view of our responsibility, and that was a big mistake,” he says in the remarks. “It was my mistake, and I’m sorry. I started Facebook, I run it, and I’m responsible for what happens here.”
Zuckerberg will testify before a joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees on Tuesday and before the House panel on Wednesday. On Monday, he met privately with the leaders of the Senate committees.
The company has been reeling since the November 2016 election, during which phony news reports spread widely on its platform and Russian operatives mounted an ambitious campaign to divide American voters, damage Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and bolster the chances of Republican candidate Donald Trump.
Facebook stock has tanked 15% since March, when news broke that Cambridge Analytica, a British political consulting firm used by the Trump campaign, inappropriately obtained personal information from as many as 87 million users.
The leak has outraged users in Britain and the U.S., prompting some to delete their Facebook accounts.
The British firm denied any wrongdoing Monday evening. “To be clear: Cambridge Analytica did not illegally or inappropriately collect or share data with anybody else,” the company said in a statement.
Facebook is reviewing all thirdparty apps that could access a massive cache of data, the way Cambridge Analytica did, before a policy shift four years ago.
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), the ranking member of the Commerce Committee, said he was satisfied with Zuckerberg’s explanation when they met Monday, but thought Facebook’s changes weren’t “sufficient” enough.
“I think it is a step in the right direction, and going forward I think we’re going to have . . . a law that sets up a regulatory framework,” Nelson said.