According to a press release that came out Wednesday, April 4, 2018, from Washington DC, Chairman Greg Walden and Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. have confirmed that Mark Zuckerberg will testify regarding the recent Cambridge Analytica scandal and other user data leaks before the committee on Wednesday, April 11th, at 10:00 a.m. He will be asked to explain his company’s stance regarding the use and protection of the massive user data it has amassed over the years.
The community expects this is a golden opportunity to let Americans understand the use of the data they choose to share online and how protected they are. They also appreciate Zuckerberg’s willingness to confront them and answer their questions.
While the E&C is the first in the Senate to take this action, other Judiciary committees also have asked Zuckerberg to appear before them. On March 21, Zuckerberg said during an interview that he was willing to provide testimonials before Congress, only if he was the right person for that.
The congressional oversight committee asked for this measure as per lawmakers’ demands of having Facebook explain the reports concerning the harvest of data belonging to more than 50 million Facebook users by Cambridge Analytica, which is funded in part by Trump supporter and billionaire financier Robert Mercer.
It is accused of pairing its consumer data repository with voter information during the Trump campaign and got paid almost $6 million for its efforts. Following controversies, the Trump government has distanced itself from it ever since. Certainly, it’s high time for answers.