Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Zuckerberg faces skeptical senators
Facebook CEO takes blame for privacy woes; Hill skeptical
The Facebook CEO takes the blame for data breach. “We didn’t do enough” to protect users.
WASHINGTON — Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg repeatedly expressed contrition in a highprofile congressional hearing Tuesday that featured complaints that went far beyond how the social network has handled the data of tens of millions of Americans.
Senators from both parties aggressively questioned Zuckerberg in his first ever public appearance in front of Congress over recent controversies — from data privacy to Russian disinformation. They demanded new detail about how Facebook collects and uses data and elicited assurances that it will implement major improvements in protecting personal privacy. The threat of greater regulation — not just of Facebook, but of the entire technology industry — hung over the first of two days of congressional hearings.
“If Facebook and other online companies will not or cannot fix these privacy invasions, then we will,” said Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, the highest-ranking Democrat on the Commerce Committee. The Tuesday event was a rare joint hearing before two Senate panels — the commerce and judiciary committees — meeting in joint session, with as many as 44 senators set to question the Facebook executive.
Zuckerberg, who traded his trademark T-shirts and hoodies for the standard Capitol Hill suit-and-tie garb, sought to quell the concerns of lawmakers and vowed to make meaningful reforms.
“It’s clear now that we didn’t do enough to prevent these tools from being used for harm as well,” Zuckerberg said at the hearing. “And that goes for fake news, foreign interference in elections, and hate speech, as well as developers and data privacy.”
Zuckerberg, who has long avoided wading into Washington affairs, took responsibility for the missteps. “We didn’t take a broad enough view of our responsibility, and that was a big mistake. And it was my mistake, and I’m sorry. I started Facebook, I run it, and I’m responsible for what happens here.”
The exchanges between the 33-year-old billionaire and lawmakers were often tense. But Zuckerberg also caused spectators to laugh when he turned down an opportunity for a break, saying he could keep answering questions for 15 more minutes before stopping. Facebook’s inability to identify and combat Russian disinformation during the 2016 presidential campaign is one of Zuckerberg’s “biggest regrets,” he said. “One of my top priorities in 2018 is getting this right.”
He also confirmed that Facebook officials have been interviewed by investigators working for special counsel Robert Mueller, who has been investigating Russia’s role in influencing the 2016 election.
He offered no details, citing a concern about confidentiality rules of the investigation.
Zuckerberg’s acknowledgments of responsibility punctuated an extraordinary shift in tone for him and the company he cofounded in his Harvard dorm room in 2004. After years of recurrent privacy controversies and official apologies, Zuckerberg has strained in recent weeks to convince lawmakers, users and regulators that Facebook is determined to deliver meaningful change. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has its own hearing scheduled for Wednesday morning.
The senators did not seem appeased by Zuckerberg’s several apologies, acknowledgements and vows to do better in the future. Several asked for detailed answers about how private, third-party companies, such as the political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, gained access to personal data on 87 million Facebook users, including 71 million Americans.
Separately, the company began alerting some of its users that their data were gathered by Cambridge Analytica. A notification that appeared on Facebook for some users Tuesday told them that “one of your friends” used Facebook to log into a now-banned personality quiz app called “This Is Your Digital Life.”
Some senators questioned whether the very business model of Facebook — which makes money by selling online advertisements based on what it learns about users on the platform — was flawed.
“Mr. Zuckerberg, in many ways you and the company that you’ve created, the story you’ve created, represent the American Dream,” said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., chairman of the commerce committee. “Many are incredibly inspired by what you’ve done. At the same time, you have an obligation, and it’s up to you, to ensure that dream doesn’t become a privacy nightmare for the scores of people who use Facebook.”
On several occasions, Zuckerberg responded to detailed questions by saying that “his team” would report back later with specific answers. But on the subject of Facebook’s business model, Zuckerberg took on the question directly, arguing that by relying on advertising revenue, Facebook could reach far more users than otherwise possible.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said, “We’ve seen the apology tours before ... I don’t see how you can change your business model unless there are different rules of the road.”