Mark Zuckerberg has faced two days of grilling before house and Senate committees on Tuesday and Wednesday to address privacy issues Facebook and the need for more regulation on the social media site.
However, the hearings in Washington were able to demonstrate a usually press-shy Zuckerberg’s ability to work as a capable and well-rehearsed, if a little tough, the General Director of one of the largest companies in the world — and the degree to which most of Congress appears puzzled about technology and current issues.
“For the most part, still, it was a victory for Facebook and mark Zuckerberg and a huge validation that Washington is in vain,” said Scott Galloway, who teaches Marketing at the University of new York.
The hearings were a serious challenge for Zuckerberg. Facebook is facing its biggest scandal of confidentiality in 14 years after it became clear that the company Cambridge Analytics data destination to 87 million users.
Some members of Congress hold degrees in computer science or other technical knowledge and well versed in the issues, drilling Zuckerberg about how Facebook keeps track of people who are not on the website and what changes social media will enable to protect user data. Someone focuses on issues like censorship and obvious error on the website, and privacy Policy.
But many have been separated from the basics of how Facebook works and hung mostly simple questions.
On Wednesday, Gus Bilirakis, Republican from Florida, asked about the removal of inappropriate opioid advertising from the site. But he also waxed about how many people his age and older use Facebook.
“My friends, my constituents — we all use Facebook,” Bilirakis said. “It’s wonderful for us seniors to connect with our relatives.”
Part of the problem was the structure of the hearings. Dozens of legislators were only four or five minutes to ask questions. Hard subsequent requests was not enough.
Was still: the average age of senators who questioned Zuckerberg 62, with a few in their 80-ies. On Tuesday, senators peppered Zuckerberg with questions about the lengthy privacy policy, Facebook and its data, but often do not know how to follow a conversation Zuckerberg algorithms and artificial intelligence systems.
Many of the answers Zuckerberg in the Congress of the people served course Facebook 101, or basic information about the business model of Facebook. On Tuesday, 84-year-old Senator Orrin hatch, R-Utah, who was a Senator for almost eight years, when Zuckerberg was born, asked how the business model of Facebook that works, given that it’s free.
“Senator, We have run ads,” Zuckerberg explained, and his smile solemn behavior.
Another laugh came when Lindsey Graham, R-S. C., asked whether Facebook was a monopoly.
“It certainly looks that way to me,” replied Zuckerberg
On Wednesday, the Republic Joe Barton, R-Texas, was like a “grandpa” moment, holding the receiver and watching that he received a question from a voter “through Facebook.”
“I actually use Facebook”, he added.
Bobby Rush, D-Ill., appears frail, stretched history to liken the privacy policy of Facebook in the implementation of the government’s secret surveillance of J. Edgar Hoover of the FBI, called the counterintelligence program, or Cointelpro, in the 1960-ies. Zuckerberg said one of his repeated statements that users control who sees what on their page Facebook.
And in the fourth hour house hearing Wednesday, Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., asked Zuckerberg was asked several times. Again, it was about basic how to work Facebook.
“How can someone control the management of Content in the area they want it’s not going?” Asked Mullin.
“If You don’t want any data to be collected around the ads, you can turn it off, and we won’t do it,” Zuckerberg confirmed.
Soft interrogation “goes straight to the point that technical knowledge among senators is weak,” said Timothy Beach, Professor of business Notre Dame.
And they allowed Zuckerberg to repeat his Thesis is that Facebook does not own or sell user data that he and other senior managers were not sufficiently active analyst with Cambridge, but they changed this and that with the help of artificial intelligence to the polls, to stop fake accounts is a priority.
The result?
“He gives the same answers to the same questions from different senators,” said Helio Fred Garcia, Professor of Crisis management at new York University and Columbia University in new York.
Zuckerberg seemed often to retreat into three “safe havens,” said Garcia:
One, spreading the responsibility for his team””.
Two, when pressed on policy issues, while agreeing in principle, without reference to details.
And three, never answering questions to start addressing the question of how a Senator or Congressman”.”
“He has a passion for showing reverence and respect,” said Garcia.
Still, Richard levick, CEO of PR firm levick who has worked with the leaders to prepare to testify, said that while Zuckerberg worked well, problems Facebook does not end until the end of the hearing.
“The real challenge will come now,” said levick. “Everyone will look at what Facebook is doing in court and throughout the country and the issues with the promises that he made today.”
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For full coverage of the privacy scandal Facebook, visit https://apnews.com/tag/FacebookPrivacyScandal
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
