Lawmakers grill Mark Zuckerberg on data collection, drug dealing on Facebook

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

published 11 April 2018

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg spent his Wednesday in front of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where he apologized again for the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

"We didn't take a broad enough view of our responsibility, and that was a big mistake," he said. "It was my mistake, and I'm sorry. I started Facebook, I run it, and I'm responsible for what happens here." This was his second day fielding questions from lawmakers, after being grilled on Tuesday by senators asking how Facebook collects data and how it could better protect user's privacy.

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) asked Zuckerberg why Facebook's default setting doesn't minimize data collection, while Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) wondered if there should be an entity overseeing how consumer data is used that creates guidelines for companies; Zuckerberg replied that idea should be considered. Rep. David McKinley (R-W.V.) accused Facebook of "enabling an illegal activity" by not doing more to remove posts from drug dealers selling opioids, and Zuckerberg said to combat these messages, Facebook needs to "build more A.I. tools that can proactively find that content." He also revealed that his data was affected during the Cambridge Analytica breach.

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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.

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