Facebook Inc Chief Executive, Mark Zuckerberg told Congress on Monday that the social media network (Facebook) did not do enough to prevent itself and its members’ data from being misused over the past few years and offered an apology to lawmakers.
“It’s clear now that we didn’t do enough to prevent these tools from being used for harm…” he said in remarks released by the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee on Monday. “That goes for fake news, foreign interference in elections, and hate speech, as well as developers and data privacy.”
Zuckerberg was meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Monday, ahead of his scheduled appearance before two Congressional committees on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Top of the agenda will be Facebook’s admission that the personal information of up to 87 million users, mostly in the United States, may have been improperly shared with political consultancy Cambridge Analytica.
“We didn’t take a broad enough view of our responsibility, and that was a big mistake,” his testimony continued. “It was my mistake, and I’m sorry. I started Facebook, I run it, and I’m responsible for what happens here.”
Facebook, which has 2.1 billion monthly active users worldwide, said on Sunday it plans to begin telling users whose data may have been shared with Cambridge Analytica on Monday. The company’s data practices are under investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
London-based Cambridge Analytica, which counts U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign among its past clients, has disputed Facebook’s estimate of the number of affected users.
Zuckerberg also said that Facebook’s major investments in security “will significantly impact our profitability going forward.” Facebook shares were up 1.7 percent in midday trading.
Source: Reuters
