Mark Zuckerberg is keen to protect his own privacy, he admits to Congress

Wednesday, 11 April 2018

Even Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has limits on what he's willing to share.

In a rare light-hearted exchange during his public grilling before US senators on Tuesday, the Facebook CEO told Senator Dick Durbin that no, he would rather not share personal details of his life with the US Congress.

'Mr Zuckerberg, would you be comfortable sharing with us the name of the hotel you stayed in last night?' asked Durbin, an Illinois Democrat.

'Um… no,' Zuckerberg said after pausing, then smiled as the room laughed.

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'If you've messaged anybody this week, would you share with us the names of the people you've messaged?' Durbin continued.

'Senator, no, I would probably not choose to do that publicly here,' Zuckerberg replied.

'I think that maybe is what this is all about,' Durbin said. 'Your right to privacy. The limits of your right to privacy and how much you give away in modern America in the name of quote, 'Connecting people around the world'.'

Durbin was among many senators who pressed Zuckerberg on what the social network collected on its users, following revelations that the Donald Trump-affiliated data mining firm Cambridge Analytica scooped up data on millions of Americans without their knowledge.

Zuckerberg earlier assured lawmakers he had learned a lot since starting the social network in his Harvard University dorm room 14 years ago.

The roughly 2.2 billion people now using Facebook can only hope Zuckerberg's views on personal privacy have changed.

Not long after Zuckerberg started Facebook while he was still 19 years old, he mocked the people entrusting him with their emails, pictures and other sensitive information while instant messaging with a friend. The exchange was obtained and published in 2010 by Business Insider.

After his friends asked him how he obtained so much information about 4000 people, Zuckerberg said they 'trust me' and then described people as 'dumb' for doing it, punctuated with a profanity.

Zuckerberg later apologised for the remarks in a 2010 interview with The New Yorker and said he had 'learned and grown a lot.'

APOLOGY KICKS OFF PROCEEDINGS

Zuckerberg began the two-day congressional inquisition with a public apology for the privacy scandal that has roiled the social media giant he founded more than a decade ago.

In the testimony, Zuckerberg acknowledged that the questioning could be hostile.

He opened his remarks before the Senate Commerce and Judiciary committees by taking responsibility for failing to prevent Cambridge Analytica from gathering personal information from 87 million users to try to influence elections.

Zuckerberg had apologised many times already, to users and the public, but this was the first time in his career that he had gone before Congress. He also is to testify on Wednesday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

In the hearings, Zuckerberg is not only trying to restore public trust in his company but also to stave off federal regulations that some lawmakers have floated.

In his opening statement to senators, he also apologised for fake news, hate speech, a lack of data privacy and Russian social media interference in the 2016 elections.

Zuckerberg departs after the hearing on Capitol Hill.

'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.'

Zuckerberg also said the company is 'responsible for the content' on its platform. That's a departure from how internet companies have traditionally viewed themselves - as neutral platforms generally not responsible for what people post and share on their services.

He said that advances in artificial intelligence mean companies like Facebook will have to think about proactively removing objectionable content, for example, not just reactively after someone flags it. This, he says, raises 'moral and legal' obligation questions.

Facebook already removes some content, such as suspected terrorist propaganda before anyone sees it. But as its systems improve, it'll likely be able to remove other content too.

After resisting previous calls to testify, Zuckerberg agreed to come to Capitol Hill this month after reports surfaced - and the company confirmed - that Cambridge Analytica had gathered Facebook users' data. Zuckerberg said his company has a responsibility to make sure what happened with Cambridge Analytica doesn't happen again.

Will Davies of Avaaz, an activist group, helps to secure Mark Zuckerberg cutouts on Tuesday outside the Capitol in Washington, DC, where Zuckerberg was testifying.

Zuckerberg also said the company is working with special counsel Robert Mueller in the Russia probe.

Earlier this year Mueller charged 13 Russian individuals and three Russian companies in a plot to interfere in the 2016 presidential election through a social media propaganda effort that included online ad purchases using US aliases and politicking on US soil.

Some of the Russian ads were on Facebook.

Zuckerberg says he has not been personally interviewed and said he is not aware if the company has been subpoenaed.

Zuckerberg has apologised many times already, to users and the public, but this is the first time in his career that he's gone before Congress.

An audience member wears a blue and green pointy wig, aiming to look like a Russian troll.

In his opening statement, Zuckerberg addressed Russian election interference and acknowledged, as he has in the past, that the company was too slow to respond and that it's 'working hard to get better'.

The company has said that as many as 146 million people may have received information from a Russian agency that's accused of orchestrating much of the cyber meddling in the election.

'We will continue working with the government to understand the full extent of Russian interference, and we will do our part not only to ensure the integrity of free and fair elections around the world, but also to give everyone a voice and to be a force for good in democracy everywhere,' Zuckerberg continued.

In the testimony, Zuckerberg acknowledged that the questioning could be hostile.

'We face a number of important issues around privacy, safety, and democracy, and you will rightfully have some hard questions for me to answer,' Zuckerberg said.

Separately, the company also began alerting users that their data was gathered by Cambridge Analytica. A notification that appeared on Facebook for some users on Tuesday told them that 'one of your friends' used Facebook to log into a now- banned personality quiz app called 'This Is Your Digital Life.'

The notice says the app misused the information, including public profiles, page likes, birthdays and current cities, by sharing it with Cambridge Analytica.