Sen. Bill Nelson skeptical Facebook can address privacy issues
Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, said that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has "a lot more action" to take in the future as Zuckerberg prepares to answer lawmakers' questions this week on the protection of its users' data in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Nelson told reporters after his private meeting with Zuckerberg Monday that he was "highly skeptical" of Facebook's ability to address rampant privacy issues. "I think he thinks he's taking action, and has in the past. But, I think there's going to be a lot more action he's going to have to take in the future," said Nelson.
"If we don't rein this in, none of us are going to have any privacy any more," he warned. Nelson added, "I think we have just seen one of the openings in the door to taking our away our privacy. "
Zuckerberg will testify before a joint session of the Senate Judiciary and Commerce Committees Tuesday, and then on Wednesday, he'll appear before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where he is expected to face similar questions.
Facebook is still reeling from a privacy scandal over its data collection policies following the revelation that political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica obtained data on as many as 87 million users. Nelson said Zuckerberg told the senator on Monday that his company had been lied to by the firm, a notion Nelson called "naive."
"You can't protect our privacy just on the basis of somebody telling you they're going to be protect it," said Nelson.
As for next steps, Nelson raised the possibility of putting new regulations in place to prevent similar acts of data misuse. He said Zuckerberg himself takes the threat of regulation seriously. Nelson said it would be "very difficult" to impose regulations, particularly during the current administration.
"My personal opinion of him was he was forthright and honest to the degree that he could. I think there are going to be a lot of challenges for his company in the future," added Nelson.
Shortly after speaking with reporters, Nelson released the following statement on his meeting with Zuckerberg in which he said the social media site "failed us":
"I just met one-on-one with Mr. Zuckerberg and in no uncertain terms reminded him that Facebook has a responsibility to its users to protect our personal data. Facebook failed us. Not only did they fail to safeguard the personal information of millions of users, they concealed it from us – and this is not the first time the company mishandled user information. Only now are they coming clean and informing those who have had their information compromised and telling us they are going to make things right.
"Meantime, we still don't know what Cambridge Analytica and other third parties have done with the data they collected. That's why I've asked Chairman Thune to haul Cambridge Analytica in to answer these questions at a separate hearing. The chairman has given me his assurance he plans to do just that. The bottom line here is: if Facebook can't fix its privacy problems, then how can Americans trust them to be caretakers of their sensitive information?"
