Facebook CEO Zuckerberg advocates tougher regulation
In the wake of the Facebook data scandal, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has admitted to mistakes and announced stricter rules. In a TV interview, he expressed his willingness to submit to stricter regulation by the authorities and to testify before the U.S. Congress.
"That was a big breach of trust. I'm sorry that this happened," the billionaire said in a CNN interview on Wednesday. Facebook has a duty to protect its users' data.
In the largest social network itself, Zuckerberg wrote: "There is still more to do." The exact mistakes that were made were explained by the
manager did not. However, he announced a review of the software from other providers on Facebook. In addition, access by these developers is to be restricted. A function is also planned with which Facebook members can prevent access to their data.
It was the first time since the allegations came to light at the weekend that Zuckerberg had commented publicly. His company is under pressure in Europe and the USA because the London-based consulting firm Cambridge Analytica is suspected of having used data from 50 million users in an improper manner. Cambridge Analytica is said to have contributed to Donald Trump's 2016 election victory with the profiles created in this way.
Preventing the influencing of elections
Zuckerberg told CNN that his company wanted to avoid influencing the US congressional elections in November as well as the elections in India and Brazil. He also wants to subject himself to further regulation by the authorities and would also be prepared to testify before the US Congress.
The data scandal is also worrying investors. Facebook shares have lost more than 45 billion dollars of their market value in the past three days due to fears that advertisers could be deterred. Following the publication of Zuckerberg's blog entry, however, the share price closed trading on Wednesday afternoon up 0.7 percent.
Facebook's plans apparently do not include significantly restricting the use of member data for advertising purposes. This, in turn, is crucial for the company's profits. Zuckerberg told the tech blog Recode that better protection of user data would cost "many millions of dollars". In the final quarter of 2017, Facebook posted a profit of more than four billion dollars.
German government demands explanation
EU Justice Commissioner V?ra Jourová has warned of a threat to democracy in light of the data scandal surrounding Facebook and Cambridge Analytica. It is not just about the protection of personal data, she said, it has a "massive impact" on debates and elections.
Jourová said in Washington on Wednesday that people's private lives had been interfered with. It was a "severe manipulation" of opinions, which was reflected in election results. Jourová spoke of a "wake-up call".
German Justice Minister Katarina Barley demanded explanations from Facebook. "The European Facebook management must provide the German government with a comprehensive statement on this scandal," the SPD politician told the Funke Group newspapers. To this end, she will invite representatives of the company to the Ministry of Justice. She did not specify a date. (SDA)
