Mark Zuckerberg to Meet With European Lawmakers

Mark Zuckerberg to testify for European lawmakers

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be in Brussels today to answer questions from European lawmakers about his company's data collection practices, privacy limits and how the social network may have influenced elections. 

In a tweet posted Monday, the President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani, wrote the meeting with Zuckerberg would be live streamed and broadcast on the parliament's website

"I have personally discussed with Facebook CEO Mr Zuckerberg the possibilty of webstreaming meeting with him. I am glad to announce that he has accepted this new request. Great news for EU citizens. I thank him for the respect shown towards EP. Meeting tomorrow from 18:15 to 19:30."

Zuckerberg has already faced questions from politicians in Congress over similar issues following revelations  that 87 million users of the social networking site may have had their data improperly shared with the political data analytics firm, Cambridge Analytica

Facebook says it discovered in 2015 that information on users had been shared with Cambridge Analytica via a personality quiz app "This Is Your Digital Life" that harvested the data of its users and their friends. 

Europe has recently undergone an overhaul of its data protection laws, with new legislation set to come into effect on Friday. The new law, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), would fine firms who violate the privacy protections with up to 4 percent of annual global turnover, or 20 million euros (just over $23 million), whichever is higher. 

The data collection scandal has prompted many to call for people to delete their social media network profle. One group in the Bay Area is calling for a hospital to remove Zuckerberg's name from the building because of the privacy scandals. The nurses who organized the protest say patients are wondering how well a hospital with the Facebook co-founder's name on it is protecting their privacy. 

Photo: Getty Images


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