The Energy and Commerce Committee recently conducted a hearing with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to garner answers regarding Facebook’s use of consumer data.
Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), the committee’s chairman, said it was critical to call on Zuckerberg to testify.
“We’ve called you here today for two reasons: One is to examine alarming reports regarding breaches of trust between your company and its users,” Walden said. “And the second reason is to widen our lens to larger questions about the fundamental relationship between tech companies and their users. While Facebook has certainly grown, I worry it has not matured. I think it is time to ask whether Facebook may have moved too fast and broken too many things.”
Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) posed questions about consumers’ ownership of their personal information online.
“Who owns the virtual you?” she asked. “Who owns your presence online? I’d like for you to comment, who do you think owns an individual’s presence online. Is it Facebook or is it users?”
Rep. David McKinley (R-WV) pushed Zuckerberg on illegal online pharmacies selling opioids on Facebook.
“America’s in the midst of one of the worst epidemics that its ever experienced with this drug epidemic,” McKinley said. “It’s all across this country, not just in West Virginia. But your platform is still being used to circumvent the law, and allow people to buy highly addictive drugs without a prescription.”
Officials said as a result of McKinley’s questions, Facebook has removed the ads.