{"id":6672,"date":"2018-03-21T20:01:13","date_gmt":"2018-03-22T03:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=6672"},"modified":"2018-03-21T23:02:32","modified_gmt":"2018-03-22T06:02:32","slug":"lawmakers-zero-in-on-zuckerberg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=6672","title":{"rendered":"Lawmakers zero in on Zuckerberg"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mark Zuckerberg<\/a><\/span>\u00a0is drawing intense scrutiny from lawmakers demanding that the Facebook founder testify to Congress about the Cambridge Analytica controversy.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Facebook\u2019s data practices are under the microscope like never before following a report that the British research firm connected to\u00a0President Trump<\/a><\/span>\u2019s campaign improperly obtained information on 50 million Facebook users as it sought to find ways of influencing voters at the polls.<\/p>\n

On Monday, the top Republicans on the Senate Commerce Committee \u2014 Sens.\u00a0John Thune<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(S.D.),\u00a0Roger Wicker<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(Miss.) and\u00a0Jerry Moran<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(Kan.) \u2014 sent a list of questions to Zuckerberg about the \u201ctroubling\u201d reports, with Moran saying Zuckerberg needed to testify.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s our first step, and then I think testimony in front of the Commerce Committee would be appropriate and required,\u201d Moran told reporters on Tuesday. \u201cI think there\u2019s a lot of questions left to be answered.\u201dThe top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep.\u00a0Adam Schiff<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(Calif.), also told The Hill on Tuesday that he believes that Zuckerberg, along with other CEOs, should attend hearings.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had the general counsel come in. That was quite some time ago. We\u2019ve learned more about the Russian interference since then,\u201d Schiff explained.<\/p>\n

Zuckerberg is also taking heat in Europe.<\/p>\n

British lawmakers, who are concerned about the episode with London-based Cambridge Analytica, have called on him to appear before Parliament\u2019s digital oversight committee.<\/p>\n

As the calls for answers mount, Zuckerberg has remained silent. His company has sought to send the signal that it takes the matter seriously even as it faults Cambridge Analytica and other players.<\/p>\n

\u201cMark, Sheryl and their teams are working around the clock to get all the facts and take the appropriate action moving forward, because they understand the seriousness of this issue,\u201d Facebook said in a statement, referring to the company\u2019s Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe entire company is outraged we were deceived. We are committed to vigorously enforcing our policies to protect people\u2019s information and will take whatever steps are required to see that this happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company has also promised to investigate the incident and Cambridge Analytica\u2019s handling of the data. For its part, Cambridge Analytica has denied any wrongdoing and says that the data was not used during its work for the Trump campaign.<\/p>\n

The appearance before any congressional panel of the billionaire tech magnate would be a cable television blockbuster \u2014 particularly given Cambridge Analytica\u2019s work for President Trump\u2019s campaign and the cloud of the Russia investigation hanging over the political world.<\/p>\n

Zuckerberg and other tech CEOs take great pains to stay out of the spotlight in the midst of controversies, and that impulse is likely heightened now that the industry is faced with a growing movement that wants to hit them with tougher regulations.<\/p>\n

Facebook in October revealed that Russian groups used its platform to influence the U.S. political process. That led to hearings in November at which lawmakers grilled Facebook and other tech companies about how the influence campaign was able to use their platforms to sow discord among voters.<\/p>\n

Facebook dispatched its top lawyer to testify in November. This time around, Congress is strongly hinting that sending lawyers won\u2019t be enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last time we had a hearing, Facebook and Google and Twitter sent their lawyers, which were undoubtedly expensive because they did a damn fine job of dodging and bobbing and weaving,\u201d Sen.\u00a0John Kennedy<\/a><\/span>(R-La.) told reporters on Monday. \u201cThey didn\u2019t say a damn thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sen.\u00a0Amy Klobuchar<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(D-Minn.) and Kennedy this week urged Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman\u00a0Chuck Grassley<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(R-Iowa) to hold a hearing with Zuckerberg and other tech CEOs about how their platforms oversee political firms\u2019 data practices.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a major breach that must be investigated,\u201d Klobuchar said over the weekend. \u201cIt\u2019s clear these platforms can\u2019t police themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

While members have ripped executives at Facebook and other companies, the major social media platforms are no closer to facing regulation today then they were immediately after the November hearings. One of Facebook\u2019s biggest worries now is that public testimony from Zuckerberg about his company\u2019s data and advertising practices could be one of the first steps toward changing that.<\/p>\n

Klobuchar said that Facebook\u2019s controversy with Cambridge Analytica is further evidence that internet companies need to be regulated. She and the Senate Intelligence Committee\u2019s top Democrat,\u00a0Mark Warner<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(Va.), have pushed their Honest Ads Act legislation, which aims to hold tech companies to the same political ad transparency standards as radio, TV and print outlets, as a way to do this.<\/p>\n

For all of the growing bipartisan outrage at companies like Facebook and Google, Republicans have generally been loath to regulate the platforms. But there\u2019s no guarantee that Facebook\u2019s good luck will continue in the wake of this latest scandal, especially as Democrats, who have a good chance of reclaiming Congress this year, become more willing to confront Silicon Valley and its left-leaning leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cMark Zuckerberg ought to be subpoenaed if he doesn\u2019t appear voluntarily. [He should] appear under oath, in public, along with other CEOs in the same space, and Alexander Nix of Cambridge Analytica and others connected with the company,\u201d Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mark Zuckerberg\u00a0is drawing intense scrutiny from...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-u-s-a"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6672"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6672\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6673,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6672\/revisions\/6673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}