The world isn’t used to seeing Facebook’s (US:FB) co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg out of his trademark baggy T-shirt. The care-free, Silicon Valley image has taken something of a beating this week after – suit and tie-clad – Mr Zuckerberg sat in front of a Senate committee explaining how the personal information of 87m Facebook users ended up in the hands of political PR company Cambridge Analytica.
The UK company – which had a hand in Donald Trump’s successful presidential campaign – is said to have taken the information via an app attached to the site’s Connect service and used it to target voters in the run-up to the election. It isn’t the first time Facebook has been accused of playing a role in political events. The group is also facing questions over whether it missed attempts by Russians to use the platform to interfere in the 2016 US election.
Chris Hughes – one of Facebook’s first employees – thinks Mr Zuckerberg’s grilling is long overdue. He claims that the recent scandal was not entirely unexpected because of the way in which Facebook allows users to access third-party websites through their accounts. Back in 2014 – when Cambridge Analytica mined the data – the third parties would have had access to users’ data and that of their friends.
Facebook’s shares have suffered as investors worry that the latest string of allegations may force lawmakers to impose profit-crippling regulation. Big tech peers, including Amazon (US:AMZN), Apple (US:AAPL) and Google’s owner Alphabet ( US:GOOGL), have shared in the misery as concerns mount that any change in regulation may upset the way many of these companies make money. The heavy weighting of the tech giants has dragged the wider US stock market down too.
But Mr Zuckerberg used his time in Washington to allay some fears. He apologised for Facebook’s handling of the Cambridge Analytica scandal and confirmed that the group is open to the “right regulation”. He praised Europe’s new data protection laws and agreed that the US would have to do more to ensure the personal information of individuals is protected. By refraining from any specifics, Mr Zuckerberg has left the door open for continued talks about the future of Facebook, including a paid-for version.
