Sen. John Kennedy 'gently' tells Mark Zuckerberg Facebook's 'user agreement sucks'


During his grilling in front of the Senate Judiciary and Commerce Committees on Tuesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg fielded questions on everything from when the company first discussed telling users about Cambridge Analytica's misuse of data to whether Facebook uses smartphone microphones to spy on people, but there was also some levity, courtesy of Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.)
He started his remarks by telling Zuckerberg, "I don't want to vote to have to regulate Facebook, but by God I will, and a lot of that depends on you." Kennedy said he didn't feel like Zuckerberg was "connecting" with the senators, and then got blunt. "Here's what everybody has been trying to tell you today and I say this gently: Your user agreement sucks," he said. "The purpose of that user agreement is to cover Facebook's rear end. It's not to inform your users about their rights."
There are "impurities in the Facebook punchbowl and they've got to be fixed," Kennedy added, before asking Zuckerberg his final question: Does Facebook have the right to share with someone Kennedy's data, with his name attached to it? "Technically," this is possible, Zuckerberg replied, since the data is in Facebook's system, "but it would be a massive breach and so we would not do that." Catherine Garcia
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
June 14 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include Donald's 30 dolls, a Flag Day fail and a MAGA Mayflower
-
5 jackbooted cartoons about L.A.'s anti-ICE protests
Cartoons Artists take on National Guard deployment, the failure of due process, and more
-
Some of the best music and singing holidays in 2025
The Week Recommends From singing lessons in the Peak District to two-week courses at Chetham's Piano Summer School
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff display
Speed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loom
Speed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panels
Speed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of business
Speed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores