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| Mark Zuckerberg Prepares to Testify as Extent of Data Harvesting Widens | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Facebook’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, will make his much-anticipated appearance before members of Congress starting Tuesday afternoon. In two days of hearings, he will face tough questions on how and why the company failed to protect the delicate data of many millions of its users. | Facebook’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, will make his much-anticipated appearance before members of Congress starting Tuesday afternoon. In two days of hearings, he will face tough questions on how and why the company failed to protect the delicate data of many millions of its users. |
| The hearings were prompted by the revelation that Cambridge Analytica, a British political consulting firm linked to the Trump campaign, harvested data of an estimated 87 million Facebook users to psychologically profile voters. On Tuesday, the company announced it would begin offering a “data abuse bounty” program to reward people who report incidents of similar abuse. | |
| But expect the hearings to expand far beyond the Cambridge matter. Senate and House lawmakers will take the opportunity to grill Mr. Zuckerberg, the 33-year-old iconic Silicon Valley entrepreneur, on the proliferation of so-called fake news on Facebook and on Russian interference on the platform during the 2016 presidential election. | But expect the hearings to expand far beyond the Cambridge matter. Senate and House lawmakers will take the opportunity to grill Mr. Zuckerberg, the 33-year-old iconic Silicon Valley entrepreneur, on the proliferation of so-called fake news on Facebook and on Russian interference on the platform during the 2016 presidential election. |
| Regulation and legal action could loom for the company. The joint Senate Judiciary and Commerce Committees will hold their hearing shortly after the start of 2:15 p.m. floor vote on Tuesday. Mr. Zuckerberg will appear before the House Energy and Commerce Committee at 10 a.m. Wednesday. | |
| Expect a long afternoon: 44 senators will participate in the hearing and have been promised four minutes each of questioning. | |
| This morning, many people (including me) woke up to a Facebook notification that our personal information had been collected by “This Is Your Digital Life,” a quiz app developed by a University of Cambridge researcher, which harvested the data that was ultimately passed to Cambridge Analytica. According to the notification I got, the app — which, apparently, one of my Facebook friends found compelling enough to use — collected data including users’ public profile information, page likes, birthdays, and current cities. | |
| But Facebook’s notifications also alerted people that their messages were possible accessed during the breach. Aleksandr Kogan, a Russian-American academic who contracted with Cambridge Analytica’s British affiliate to harvest and provide private Facebook data, said in an interview that the app harvested messages from the people who took part in the app directly, but not their extended friend network. Mr. Kogan added that the messages were not transferred to Cambridge Analytica. | |
| Thanks, anonymous friend! | |
| — Kevin Roose and Sheera Frenkel | |
| Facebook’s repeated privacy mishaps — and subsequent apologies — will be a recurring theme during the hearings. | Facebook’s repeated privacy mishaps — and subsequent apologies — will be a recurring theme during the hearings. |
| Mr. Zuckerberg will start out with another mea culpa and plans to tell lawmakers that the company made a “big mistake” in underestimating its responsibility, according to prepared testimony released by the Energy and Commerce Committee. “It was my mistake, and I’m sorry. I started Facebook, I run it and I’m responsible for what happens here.” | Mr. Zuckerberg will start out with another mea culpa and plans to tell lawmakers that the company made a “big mistake” in underestimating its responsibility, according to prepared testimony released by the Energy and Commerce Committee. “It was my mistake, and I’m sorry. I started Facebook, I run it and I’m responsible for what happens here.” |
| Mr. Zuckerberg is also expected to say the company is hiring thousands of people to make the site more secure and to correct mishaps over privacy and fake news. But the question of trust is at the center of the company’s ability to thrive going forward. Some lawmakers will insist that the company’s business model of collecting data to target ads is fundamentally at odds with the protection of its users’ privacy. | Mr. Zuckerberg is also expected to say the company is hiring thousands of people to make the site more secure and to correct mishaps over privacy and fake news. But the question of trust is at the center of the company’s ability to thrive going forward. Some lawmakers will insist that the company’s business model of collecting data to target ads is fundamentally at odds with the protection of its users’ privacy. |
| — Cecilia Kang | |
| Just hours before Mr. Zuckerberg’s testimony is set to begin, Facebook announced a “data abuse bounty” program, to reward people who report incidents of data abuse on the platform. | |
| According to the announcement, the company will financially reward “people with firsthand knowledge and proof of cases where a Facebook platform app collects and transfers people’s data to another party to be sold, stolen or used for scams or political influence.” | |
| Facebook says that the amount of the bounties will vary based on the impact of each data misuse incident, but that technical glitches that have been reported to the company in the past have fetched rewards of as much as $40,000. | |
| Silicon Valley tech companies, including Facebook, have long had “bug bounty” programs to encourage hackers to find flaws in their software, so that they can be safely patched. Now, in an attempt to avoid future data leak scandals, Facebook is trying to harness the power of the crowd to find other Cambridge Analyticas who are misusing user data. (Presumably, Christopher Wylie, the original Cambridge Analytica whistle-blower, will not be eligible for back pay.) | |
| — Kevin Roose | |
| Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, a moderate Democratic member of the Judiciary Committee, did not need to look far Tuesday morning for evidence of what ails Facebook after finding two fake accounts: | |
| Facebook took quick action, taking down the two fake accounts, according to an aide to the senator. But Mr. Coons was hardly placated. | |
| “They’ve already fixed it,” said the aide, Sean Coit. “But how do they respond to an average person in Smyrna, Delaware, who’s getting scammed?” | |
| —Nicholas Fandos | |
| Alvaro Bedoya, a former Senate privacy advisor, points out on Twitter that these types of hearings usually don’t produce new revelations. | |
| “This is not a true fact-finding expedition,” he wrote. “This is 70% Kabuki theater, 30% cross-examination. The script is mostly known; the question is how it’s said.” | |
| Instead, we should expect Mr. Zuckerberg to focus on what Facebook has already divulged: the 87 million users whose data was leaked, the company’s changes to its data-sharing policies, and the efforts it has undertaken to prevent future Russian interference. | |
| — Kevin Roose | |
| Democrats and some Republicans will raise the need for privacy regulations, saying tech companies cannot be counted on to do it voluntarily. They will point to data protection laws that are about take effect in Europe as a guide. | Democrats and some Republicans will raise the need for privacy regulations, saying tech companies cannot be counted on to do it voluntarily. They will point to data protection laws that are about take effect in Europe as a guide. |
| Mr. Zuckerberg is expected to say that he supports those European laws and that the same tools for privacy will be available to all of Facebook’s two billion users. But the details will matter, and some lawmakers will insist that those settings and tools are made clearly available to users and are the default setting. | Mr. Zuckerberg is expected to say that he supports those European laws and that the same tools for privacy will be available to all of Facebook’s two billion users. But the details will matter, and some lawmakers will insist that those settings and tools are made clearly available to users and are the default setting. |
| — Cecilia Kang | |
| Silicon Valley’s hometown representatives, Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat of the Judiciary committee, and Kamala Harris, a junior Democrat, will be important to watch. Among the areas to keep an eye on: Whether they push for privacy regulation and tougher enforcement powers at the Federal Trade Commission. | |
| Ms. Harris, a former prosecutor, has seen her profile rise quickly within the Democratic and she, along with Cory Booker of New Jersey, are expected to run for higher office. They may make their criticism of Silicon Valley into a political issue to lay the groundwork for future campaigns. | |
| The harshest questions may come from former prosecutors in the Judiciary Committee. Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota, Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut and Ms. Harris are former prosecutors who are expected to grill Mr. Zuckerberg on what he knew and when during the Cambridge Analytica scandal and they are skilled at keeping witnesses off their talking points. | |
| — Cecilia Kang | |
| While Democrats will be among the most vocal critics of Facebook, it is worth watching what regulation-wary Republicans convey during the hearings. If Republican lawmakers indicate that they believe privacy laws are needed or that the Federal Trade Commission needs to clamp down harder on its enforcement of companies like Facebook, that could portend real change. | |
| Their comments could guide the incoming members of the commission, who are inheriting the agency’s investigation of Facebook’s violations of its 2011 agreement on privacy protections. | Their comments could guide the incoming members of the commission, who are inheriting the agency’s investigation of Facebook’s violations of its 2011 agreement on privacy protections. |
| Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said Tuesday morning that Facebook’s misuse of data has “clearly broken consumer trust.” He said the Cambridge Analytica episode was “a catalyst for a conversation that, frankly, is long overdue.” | |
| And he swept up other internet companies in his criticism, saying in an op-ed published in Fortune, that “significant data collection isn’t limited to Facebook—it’s the crux of a business model for a growing and innovative industry. Google, Twitter, Apple, and Amazon have built an ever-expanding portfolio of products and services that grant endless opportunities to collect increasing amounts of information on their customers.” | |
| But Mr. Grassley stopped short of saying he supports privacy regulation. His comments portend a divide within Congress on the need for data protection laws or pushing the companies to regulated themselves. | |
| — Cecilia Kang | |
| A central question surrounding Facebook is whether it is a media company. It is the world’s largest platform for news and information and has thousands of people now making decisions on editorial content. | A central question surrounding Facebook is whether it is a media company. It is the world’s largest platform for news and information and has thousands of people now making decisions on editorial content. |
| Lawmakers — like Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas — are expected to focus on whether the company’s algorithms and staff suppress conservative views or if they skew content with a political bent. | Lawmakers — like Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas — are expected to focus on whether the company’s algorithms and staff suppress conservative views or if they skew content with a political bent. |
| The determination as to whether Facebook is a media company is critical: If it’s defined as a media company, Facebook could face many more regulatory pressures, including at the Federal Communications Commission. | The determination as to whether Facebook is a media company is critical: If it’s defined as a media company, Facebook could face many more regulatory pressures, including at the Federal Communications Commission. |
| — Cecilia Kang | |
| In Mr. Zuckerberg’s first appearance before Congress, the world will consider his performance as a statesman and as a business executive. | In Mr. Zuckerberg’s first appearance before Congress, the world will consider his performance as a statesman and as a business executive. |
| To help make the case that he should be taken seriously, Mr. Zuckerberg will be taking oath in a suit instead of his trademark gray T-shirt and jeans. | To help make the case that he should be taken seriously, Mr. Zuckerberg will be taking oath in a suit instead of his trademark gray T-shirt and jeans. |
| Some lawmakers may ask if he is capable of leading such an important company, one that some in Washington view as a sort of utility for information. He will need to come across as more than a brilliant engineer and as someone who understands the influence Facebook wields and its responsibility. | Some lawmakers may ask if he is capable of leading such an important company, one that some in Washington view as a sort of utility for information. He will need to come across as more than a brilliant engineer and as someone who understands the influence Facebook wields and its responsibility. |
| Wall Street, employees and global regulators will see the company and its brand through the lens of Mr. Zuckerberg’s marathon testimonies. | Wall Street, employees and global regulators will see the company and its brand through the lens of Mr. Zuckerberg’s marathon testimonies. |
| — Cecilia Kang |