Mark Zuckerberg In Hot Seat After Facebook’s Data Misuse Exposed
Mark Zuckerberg Image by Getty
By Ari Feldman March 19, 2018
Pressure is mounting on Mark Zuckerberg to speak publicly about Facebook’s alleged misuse of personal data about over 50 million users, Bloomberg Technology reported.
Facebook recently admitted that it allowed the data to be used offline by Cambridge Analytica, the political research firm founded by Stephen K. Bannon and Republican mega-donor Robert Mercer. The data was originally obtained by a professor who gleaned the data on Facebook’s system through an app that claimed to offer a personality quiz.
Facebook denies wrongdoing, since the data collection was allowed by the company’s rules, and obtained lawfully by the professor and Cambridge Analytica. But the company is facing anger from internet privacy regulators on both sides of the Atlantic because none of the 50 million Facebook users were alerted that their personal data was being used by a third-party firm.
Damian Collins, a British lawmakers, said that Zuckerberger should “stop hiding behind his Facebook page and actually come out and answer questions about his company.” Collins is chair of Parliament’s U.K. Digital, Culture, Media and Sports Committee.
Senator Amy Klobuchar also called on Zuckerberg to testify before Congress.
Facebook breach: This is a major breach that must be investigated. It’s clear these platforms can’t police themselves. I’ve called for more transparency & accountability for online political ads. They say “trust us.” Mark Zuckerberg needs to testify before Senate Judiciary.
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) March 17, 2018
Contact Ari Feldman at [email protected] or on Twitter @aefeldman
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
