Facebook founder defends firm, apologizes for misuse of data
Zuckerberg to Congress: ‘Everyone should have control over how their information is used’
WASHINGTON — Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg apologized early and often for his company’s mishandling of users’ data in his debut appearance before Congress on Tuesday, but strongly defended the company’s core business model of making money from the personal information its customers post on their accounts.
Zuckerberg issued several variations on his opening-statement mea culpa that Facebook hadn’t done enough to prevent the social network from being “used for harm.” He insisted, however, that there was no fundamental flaw in the way Facebook lets users limit the spread of their data.
After squirming for a moment before collecting himself, the 33-year-old internet billionaire did confess to an extraordinary joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees that he would not want to share publicly the name of the hotel where he stayed the night before. “Everyone should have control over how their information is used,” Zuckerberg said, responding to a question by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
But Zuckerberg added, “Every day people come to Facebook to share photos” and other information about their lives. “Every time they choose to share something, they have a control right there about who they want to share it with.”
Zuckerberg was called to Capitol Hill to respond to revelations that the Russian government used Facebook to try to disrupt the 2016 presidential election, and that the personal information of as many as 87 million Facebook users was accessed without their knowledge by a political firm that supported Donald Trump. The Facebook CEO found himself challenged by senators from both parties about whether the public can trust the company to patrol itself.
Zuckerberg fielded harsh questions from both sides of the aisle.
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., chairman of the Commerce Committee, greeted Zuckerberg with a hostile opening statement declaring himself unconvinced that Facebook users “have the information they need to make meaningful choices.”
Zuckerberg sought to avoid direct answers about whether he would submit to regulation similar to policies going into effect in the European Union to enforce users’ privacy and platforms’ transparency. He said he would be open to working with Congress on the issues, but said the “details matter.”
Frustrated senators said Facebook has become more than just an innocent way to connect people, as Zuckerberg insisted remains the company’s intent, but instead a business model that exploits users’ personal data to sell ads.
Zuckerberg strongly defended that model. He said most users choose to allow Facebook to use their information to target them with ads. As for making people pay for using Facebook without ad targeting, Zuckerberg said that without the money such a policy brings in, “we would still need some sort of business model.”
“So I’m going to have to pay you in order not to send me using my personal info, something that I don’t want,” Nelson asked.
“Correct,” Zuckerberg replied, clarifying that the company does not have a paying option now.
As for misuse of the platform by bad actors for terrorist plots, hate speech or other unwelcome content, Zuckerberg said artificial intelligence now offers the ability to sort through billions of posts to flag potential problems.
But that prompted sharp questions from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who asked whether Facebook intends to become a political censor. He challenged Zuckerberg to say whether it claims to be a “neutral public forum” that can be regulated or an entity protected under the First Amendment guarantee of free speech.
“Our goal is certainly not to engage in political speech,” Zuckerberg said. Asked later by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, if Facebook has become the world’s largest publisher, Zuckerberg sought a middle ground, saying he views it as a tech company.
“This is a really big question,” Zuckerberg said, making the distinction between being responsible for its content but not creating it.