Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg admits his company made mistakes in light of the Cambridge Analytica data breach.
South Dakota U.S. Senator John Thune is among lawmakers who are questioning the tech leader as he testifies on Capitol Hill this week. Zuckerberg apologized during his opening statement for not notifying the 87 million users whose information was plucked by the political firm.
Thune wants to know how Facebook will make adjustments to be more transparent with its consumers.
"WIRED magazine recently noted that you have a 14-year history of apologizing for ill-advised decisions regarding user privacy not unlike the one you made just now in your opening statement. After more than a decade of promises to do better, how is today's apology different? And, why should we trust Facebook to make the necessary changes to ensure user privacy and give people a clearer picture of your privacy policies?" Thune asks.
Zuckerberg says Facebook has made numerous mistakes from its genesis in a Harvard dorm room to its current position in society. He says the company is aiming to adapt from creating platforms for people to make a difference to providing enforcement on its site.
"What I think we've learned now, across a number of issues, not just data privacy, but also fake news and foreign interference in elections, is we need to take a more proactive role and a broader view of our responsibility. It's not enough to build tools. We need to make sure they are used for good. And, that means that we need to now take a more proactive view in policing the ecosystem...and watching and kind of looking out and making sure that all of the members in our community are using these tools in a way that's going to be good and healthy," Zuckerberg says.
The Facebook CEO will testify again in front of Congress on Wednesday. Thune says the public needs to know about what information they give the company in exchange for using its services. He also wants Facebook to tell users about the eventual changes they make to bolster privacy practices.