Commenting after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared before senior MEPs in the European Parliament, Syed Kamall said: “I went into the hearing wanting to give Mr Zuckerberg a fair chance to address Facebook users’ and non-Facebook users’ concerns. However, what this hearing highlighted is that we still don’t know the depths that people’s data has been abused.
“Until we genuinely know what has happened, and is still happening, Facebook and legislators can’t put in place the right solutions to prevent the same issues in the future. It’s like trying to cure a disease without knowing what the illness is.
“While this was another important step in drawing attention to this very serious situation, unfortunately the format was a get out of jail free card and gave Mr Zuckerberg too much room to avoid the difficult questions. When Facebook’s technical team visit the civil liberties committee it should be organised in such a way to make sure they actually have to directly tackle all our questions, however difficult.
“I was surprised to hear Facebook confirm they need to collect non-Facebook users’ data for security purposes. Some people may well ask who needs Interpol when you have Mark Zuckerberg?”
Dr Kamall, Conservative MEP for London, was among the parliament’s political group-leaders who questioned Mr Zuckerberg in Brussels today.
ENDS
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