One leading UK politician later said the session at the European Parliament had been a “missed opportunity”. ![]() Zuckerberg also did not respond to these questions about whether Facebook was a monopoly and how it plans to use data from its WhatsApp division.Īfter an hour of this process, Zuckerberg then gave a speech. Verhofstadt also asked Zuckerberg if he wanted to be remembered as “the genius who created a digital monster”, a question which the Facebook boss did not answer. “I ask you simply, and that is my final question: can you convince me not to do so?”īelgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt, who had threatened not to attend if the meeting was held behind closed doors, asked whether Zuckerberg would be willing to sell Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp if it meant his company was able to retain control of the main social network and Instagram. “I think it is time to discuss breaking Facebook’s monopoly, because it’s already too much power in one hand,” Germany’s Manfred Weber MEP reportedly said. No answersĪnother MEP questioned Zuckerberg over the monopoly position Facebook allegedly occupies. Indeed, Mark Zuckerberg did not appear at all pleased when the former UKip leader praised the role that social networks such as Facebook played in the triumph of Donald Trump and the vote for Brexit. However, he suggested any problems could be fixed through new technology and an investment in extra staff.īut matters were not helped when Nigel Farage expressed his concern about the impact Facebook’s recent algorithm changes, which he felt could have on his ability to reach the public.įar right groups are said to be concerned that the algorithm changes to remove hate speech and fake news, reflect an alleged attempt by Facebook to show more liberal news. Zuckerberg reportedly apologised (again) for the way his platform had been used, but he said it was “crazy” to suggest that fake news on his platform had contributed to the election of Donald Trump. Indeed, the visit “saw the leaders of pan-European political groupings take it in turns to pose dozens of separate questions on wildly different topics, some of which were incisive and some of which involved oblique references to the literature of Goethe,” reported the Guardian. This gave Zuckerberg the chance to pick and choose which he would give answers to. This was in part down to what the Guardian newspaper described as a rambling format of the European Parliament meeting.Įssentially Zuckerberg had to listen to all questions from the leaders of the European Parliament’s various political groups, before he could answer. ![]() However, according to media reports, Zuckerberg did not emerge as unscathed as he had when he appeared before two committees in the US Senate over the Cambridge data sharing scandal. The visit by the Facebook founder had been intended as a closed door meeting, but after protests, it was agreed this week that it would be broadcast live. ![]() Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made his long-awaited appearance on this side of the Atlantic when he appeared before the European Parliament on Tuesday afternoon.
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