Mark Zuckerberg responds to Cambridge Analytica breach: 'At the end of the day, I'm responsible'

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg responded to the growing Cambridge Analytica scandal in a lengthy Facebook post Wednesday, outlining a plan to avoid a similar breach in the future.

Zuckerberg described the timeline of events that led up to to what he called a "breach of trust," in which the data analytics firm reportedly accessed private information from tens of millions of users without permission. The Facebook co-founder said that many measures were already in place to prevent such an issue, but introduced a three-pronged plan for the future: investigate all third-party apps that log sensitive data, further restrict third-party developers from accessing personal information, and create a tool for users to easily control which apps can access profile data.

Cambridge Analytica, a data firm with reported ties to President Trump's campaign, obtained access to information that was originally collected in accordance with Facebook's policies, reports CNN. But the data was transferred to third-parties without permission rather than deleted, even after the company told Facebook it would dispose of the information. The breach was originally reported by The New York Times and The Guardian on Saturday, and Zuckerberg had remained silent on the scandal until Wednesday's post.

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"I started Facebook, and at the end of the day I'm responsible for what happens on our platform," wrote Zuckerberg. Lawmakers are calling for Zuckerberg to testify before the Senate to address privacy and accountability issues for web-based companies.