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San Francisco - Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg, in prepared testimony for the US House of Representatives, said all of Facebook’s problems are his mistake.
The world’s largest social-media company didn’t do enough to prevent its tools from being used for harm, especially in terms of fake news, foreign interference in elections, hate speech, developer policies and data privacy, Zuckerberg, Facebook’s co-founder, said.
“It was my mistake, and I’m sorry,” Zuckerberg added, according to a copy of the prepared testimony ahead of his appearance in front of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday.
“I started Facebook, I run it, and I’m responsible for what happens here.” Zuckerberg is due to testify to Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday in the midst of the worst privacy crisis in Facebook’s history.
He will try to explain how much Facebook contributes to the world, while saying he didn’t take a broad enough view of the consequences the company’s technology.
The prepared testimony recounts many of the updates Facebook has made to improve security since revelations that Cambridge Analytica, a political consultant with ties to President Trump’s campaign, obtained information on as many as 87 million users without their consent.
It also confirms Facebook knows little about what Cambridge Analytica did with the data, or even whether it still has the information.
Facebook’s timeline about the incident relies on outside news reports, not the Menlo Park, California-based company’s own investigation.
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