Facebook has become a social media monopoly that preys on conservatives, while propping up leftwing fascism.
Sadly, that’s not why their CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, appeared before Congress earlier this week. No, he was forced to appear after the revelation that his company had been sweeping up users private data and selling it to whomever they saw fit to sell it to.
From the AP:
After privately assuring senators that his company will do better, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is undergoing a two-day congressional inquisition that will be very public — and possibly pivotal for the massive social networking company he created.
Zuckerberg visited with senators in closed-door meetings Monday, previewing the public apology he plans to give Congress on Tuesday after revelations that Cambridge Analytica, a data-mining firm affiliated with Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, gathered personal information from 87 million users to try to influence elections.He’s apologized many times already, to users and the public, but it is the first time in his career that he has gone before Congress. Zuckerberg will testify before a joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Commerce Committees on Tuesday and before a House panel on Wednesday.
In the hearings, Zuckerberg will not only try to restore public trust in his company but also stave off federal regulation that some lawmakers have floated.
Watch as Zuckerberg speaks to Congress:
Sen. Graham: Do you think the average consumer understands what they are signing up for?
Zuckerberg: I don't think that the average person likely reads that whole document. But I think that there are different ways that we can communicate that & have a responsibility to do so. pic.twitter.com/pRbgxZ6aHu— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 10, 2018
Mark Zuckerberg on whether Facebook has a monopoly: "It certainly doesn't feel like that to me." pic.twitter.com/neW59QPFTe
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) April 10, 2018
By the way, Zuckerberg doesn’t “feel” like Facebook is a monopoly… but he also had a hard time coming up with any of Facebook’s competitors. Pro tip: if your company has completely locked down the market in such a way that you can’t even think of any competitors… you’re a monopoly.
Sen. Cantwell just asked Mark #Zuckerberg: “Have you heard of a company called Palantir?” Here’s how Palantir helped the NSA spy on the whole world: https://t.co/6CZA5QwHuH
— The Intercept (@theintercept) April 10, 2018
"One of my top priorities in 2018 is to get this right. One of my greatest regrets in running the company is that we were slow in identifying the Russian information operations in 2016."
– Mark Zuckerberg on foreign actors interfering in the U.S. election pic.twitter.com/JKs3F9xnkt
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) April 10, 2018
Hatch: "How do you sustain a business model in which users don't pay for your service?"
Zuckerberg: "Senator, we run ads" *smiles*
Hatch: "I see. That's great." https://t.co/1PQ3joAtC8— Daniella Diaz (@DaniellaMicaela) April 10, 2018
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