We've turned Facebook into a scapegoat. How could anyone monitor the "political lies." ALL political statements are advertisements (i.e. at least partially a bending of the truth). Can you imagine Fox news "deciding" what gets said on CNN? How about the reverse? Can you imagine Trump vetting Warren's statements? How about the reverse?
Our political opinions are in the public square. You don't blame the medium for the message. This applies to TV, radio, newspapers, public speeches.
What you need is an educated public to decide for themselves what's valid. An educated public. Ah, there's the rub.
Good luck America.
22
Zuckerberg has always brought to my mind memories of the goofy face of Alfred E Newman on the cover of Mad Magazine with the thought bubble "What, me worry?" Much like another of his historical predecessors, P T Barnum, Zucker has little to worry about as long as a new Facebook user is born every minute.
4
There is a simple answer to Facebook's and Zuckerberg's duplicitous behavior and tolerance, if not encouragement, of lies, propaganda, hate speech and, worst of all, child torture and abuse.
It's something I did almost 2 years ago.
Quit Facebook. Encourage your friends and family to quit Facebook. Ask your businesses and your politicians to quit Facebook.
Strip Facebook of its power by stripping its users.
10
Break up Facebook before it’s too late.
6
No one is forcing you to use Facebook. No one is forcing you to reveal any personal information about yourself. If you are unhappy with the information Facebook has about you - look in a mirror - you are the culprit. Perhaps you should reconsider as 2 billion people use Facebook.
RE political aids. Facebook has said that it checks who is paying for them and if they are from foreign countries trying to influence our elections. In which case they will be removed. Suppose Facebook fact checked ads - the process would be reviled and the criticism as to why an ad was pulled would be much worse than currently.
Better to let stupid politicians make outrageous claims which reveal themselves as the fools that they are and let the public judge
7
So, Zuckerberg would be perfectly happy to spread Nazi propaganda because in a Democracy, politicians have the right to lie without any checks.
12
I think Mr. Zuckerberg may have Democracy confused with Libertarianism.
Providing a platform that caters equally to the most profound of scientific discoveries and the most ludicrous of politically charged propaganda, while offering the general public unfettered access to everything on the pretext of rewarding them the liberty to make their own judgement is not a characteristic tenet of Democracy.
I believe that Democracy, by definition, should encompass at least partial responsibility of the government in taking decisions "for the people" rather relying on the inevitable accumulation and subsequent dissemination of anarchic, under-researched, scattered and unsound opinions of individuals which engenders disharmony.
9
Today’s GOP is largely built on lies and fear mongering. The plethora of Hillary Hate feeds that came through my Facebook feed in 2016 was relentless. Propaganda like this is effective because it builds upon people’s prejudices (many of which they aren’t even conscious of), misperceptions, anxieties, and stereotypes. Truth is not a factor. ALL political ads (paid or unpaid) that make fact based claims should be required to provide a link to the source of those facts and a statement from the ad source about who they are and that they approve of this message. Political truth in advertising was never more critical than today.
12
Enough is enough. Social networks must start to be regulated in the same way the rest of the media is. More and more people turn to sites like Twitter and Facebook for news and those platforms make billions off of those eyeballs. If they want to profit like a media company, they must be regulated like one.
20
Regarding Zuckerberg's desire to create his own cryptocurrency (Libra), I must say, I find his argument that it is "for those who do not have a bank account" to be laughably false, like the equivalent of the Big Bad Wolf dressed as grandma-false. First of all, people who are living on the razor's edge of financial solvency are not able to invest in cryptocurrency. Second, one can open a checking account with a dollar bill if one is so inclined. I run a business where I employ and make regular transactions with people of the financial status that Zuckerberg cites. They generally use CashApp for paying and receiving funds. Their primary concern seems to be finding ways to make a better living, not the way they transfer their money.
Call it like it is, man. Libra would simply be another channel for politicians, traffickers, finance titans and anyone else seeking to do shady-to-criminal business to move along assets unchecked. I think our intelligence has suffered enough insult.
18
Facebook says political ads are only a tiny portion of their revenue. So why don't they offer to ban all political ads? That would end all the complaints about misleading ad and avoid having a censor decide whose ad to approve.
12
Surely, the government is not going to allow the Libra project to go ahead. It is farcical how Mark Zuckerberg keeps getting hauled before Congress to testify and issue feeble apologies (or not). The time would be better spent passing laws to force Facebook to behave. Zuckerberg clearly is morally bankrupt. Let’s not allow him to start siphoning money from everyone on top of it.
14
I wonder who are these groups of people who benefit from cryptocurrency? Zuck says people who don't have bank accounts, but they have FB? Or are we talking about groups who have money, could use bank accounts but need to make anonymous transactions for illegal purchases. How big is this group who he is claiming needs help and how many others will use it in a negative way? Seems like an analysis needs to be done Teagarden get cryptocurrency in general and FB is an entirely separate discussion. Zuck sounds greedy for both money and power to me, this is not greater good speaking.
14
I wonder whether FB would allow deeply offensive and deceptive ads with links to deep fake video that attack FB and MZ and his family?
I wonder what rate MZ would be charged on FB to place ads supportive or disparaging particular political candidates?
A $billion ad buy against candidates that want to break-up tech monopoly's is easy to imagine and would be incredibly effective.
8
He is powerless without his willing enablers, Facebook users and advertisers, here and elsewhere in the world. I'm betting most members of Congress use Facebook.
9
@Ed
From what I have observed the legislators themselves (older ones anyone) are not really big users of social media technology and have to rely on their staffs and family to help them. I tried to convince a friend who was the communications director of a former governor of one of the swing states. She went on to other high-profile jobs. She is smart, well-informed, very progressive, but she uses Facebook as a platform to communicate with friends, family, collegues and so on. It appears to be a center in her communications world. She told me that she was not willing to give up her Facebook account even though I presented her with multiple articles warning of the dangers of Facebook-- such as Trump and the Republicans using Facebook to place misleading and vicious ads against Democratic candidates. Zuckerberg's willing enablers number in the billions. I fear that unless the Democrats take back the Oval Office and the Senate, no meaningful curtailment of his power will occur. Even then, I doubt there will be serious legislation. Zuckerberg has already started preparing for a cold war with Liz Warren even now. What is most disturbing is that very few people understand the danger of putting that much power in the hands of one for profit enterprise. People love their Facebook accounts and the power it gives them in their daily lives to communicate.
6
I have sympathy for the difficulty of policing what are lies or simply misleading statements from politicians. Instead of policing, FB should release the information about who sees what political ads, and give others the opportunity to respond to all those who clicked on the offending ads.
2
I believe Mr. Z, the software engineer, is going to discover that, in FB's case, gaining trust will be far, far more difficult than writing a few thousand lines of computer code. I expect the bailouts on Libra were caused mostly by those companies not wanting an association with FB to be a smear on their reps.
5
I feel like I am watching a struggle between an established public government of people and its challenger, a proposed government that is private, corporate and technocratic. Both are platforms on which society functions.
5
Facebook will be Facebook.
Break up Facebook. They did it to Microsoft and FB is a far more malign cultural force . . . ohhhhh right, Republicans love it for its non-existent fact-checking and openness to foreign money.
I'm sure Zuck was more than happy to come and take his ritual beating in exchange for the billions which will flow into Facebook during the next election cycle.
14
Zuckerberg sounds like a bad actor reading a script he clearly needs to keep himself from sinking entirely.
I am not on Facebook nor will I ever be.
12
All that said - do you really want the Facebook team deciding what can and cannot be seen? Where does one draw the line on each posting, and who decides? A lot of people need to go read Orwell's 1984 again.
10
The current major users of block chain currencies are money launderers, decoupling drug money, human trafficking proceeds, and fraudulent transactions from the evidence of criminality.
Apparently, the financial profits from Facebook are insufficient for Zuckerberg. He wants in on the money laundering as well. Soon he will be able to offer a package deal sell Facebook data and access to political operatives to manipulate elections, and launder the payments so that no one can track the perpetrators. Now that is vertical integration.
12
It would be funny if it wasn't so dangerous, the way Congresspeople believe the "beatings" they believe they administer in these sessions has any meaning at all.
It may not be pleasant, but Zuckerberg, Trump, and the gang know life will be easier in the long run if they dress up real fancy (implied sign of respect), sit with as little fidget as possible, and calmly observe as exposure-hungry, self-important politicians bloviate on their topics of choice.
They know Congress has been unmanned; Trump has leeched the credibility from Washington. It won't be coming back any time soon.
Heaven forbid a committee would turn the party over to experienced grillers, aggressive examiners supported by knowledgeable, aggressive, and experienced staff.
Mark, especially, turned his public life into one extended and repulsive Eddie Haskell moment, meekly protesting his utter innocence from a pile of expensive new duds, pledging fidelity to God's own ethics, admitting over and over mistakes, false steps, well-intentioned chaos.
Then a quick lunch at The Outlandishly Overpriced TRUMP Place to Eat and Stay and back home to business as usual.
They treat these guys like administration witnesses called to testify for the Mueller extravaganza, with kid gloves and mumbling tentativeness, and an appalling lack of focus. When they bother to show up.
11
Facebook began with a theft.
Zuckerberg's victims were paid $45 million.
It continues to steal people's privacy and political choice.
Why does anyone imagine this corporation's ideology will change?
25
@Deborah Altman Ehrlich I dropped out of Facebook over a year ago. Nobody is required to use that public mooning medium.
3
Mark Zuckerberg and his various entities have proven repeatedly that they are not to be entrusted with power.
Mr. Zuckerberg is enthralled with his own creation, believes his own public relations, burnishes his ego and neither sees nor cares what the effect of his behavior, his bullying, his brutish narcissism has on people and processes.
Facebook needs to phase him out, separate their business models and spend years proving they can be trusted with the public good.
20
The guy knows that Facebooks days are not unlimited. The younger generation are using things other then Facebook, and older adults are leaving Facebook.
So.. what does he do? He proposes setting up a shadow banking system with Libra... something now abandoned by his original interested business allies.
This guy needs to be squashed like a bug and sent into retirement. Facebook.. needs to be either broken up, or at least barred from aquiring other companies which he does in order to stifle his competition.
24
If Republicans are supporting Zuckerberg and Facebook, then smart people definitely shouldn't.
Deleted my Facebook page nearly two years ago, and my life has changed 100% for the better.
26
Facebook is a travesty. Zuckerberg is only interested in getting more money. I will add that I will NEVER be on Facebook.
18
With all of the programming expertise Facebook can afford, if it turned onto helping consumers understand the origin of the ads and other safety options - consumers could do their own filtering.
Mr Zuckerberg is putting lipstick on a pig - in this case, naked greed with zero social consciousness. Think Trump, if he was smart, thin, and computer literate.
13
@Mytwocents, my cheap shot for this morning, admittedly, but you could even remove "computer" from that last trio of descriptors and it would still be accurate.
3
Sorry Mark but I must join those who believe FB should be broken apart because it violates our anti-trust laws.
Whatever sympathy any may hold towards FB is misguided. It is unfortunate that you are able to control a publicly owned company because of the super voting rights of your stock; and that is what makes you dangerous to the public and the U.S. If the public shareholders really had a say in FB the extreme bad behavior you have demonstrated in seeking every last cent might have been able to be contained; but it cannot because you have voting control and are totally amoral- perhaps that is why you just had a good meeting with the champion of amorality Trump.
I accuse you of being amoral based upon the following:
an example is FB in Sri Lanka. More than once the government requested FB to cease its activities because postings were leading to riots in which people were getting killed but that did not move FB to take action.
In the 2016 U.S. election FB claimed innocence as to being the favored platform of foreign disinformation trolls. Mark himself claimed that Mark didn't know that Russians were misusing FB even when confronted with the fact that payments originated from Russia and were in Rubles.
Control of a currency belongs solely with a government which can be held responsible to voters. FB must be prohibited from accepting political advertising because Mark admits that FB can't tell fact from fiction so there is no public good to be served by misleading ads.
22
It costs him money, Mark Zuckerberg is not going to do it. He is so addicted to making money off every crank, crackpot, foreign agent and political operative that uses his Facebook platform to spread lies and misinformation with their political ads that throw elections that cannot stop himself. Of course, he will deny it like Cheeto-in-Chief. At the same time, he hammers regular users who seeming overstep his "Community Values" when posting. He is not Mr. Golden Boy as he claims.
14
“We have work to do”, says Zuck, which has become his go-to statement when called out on a smorgasbord of FB abuses. Honestly, why does Congress even summon this arrested adolescent, this imperfectly-formed proto-adult, to even answer questions of substance? Marky-Mark, the avatar of runaway, value-free, consumer-surveillance technology, is now attempting to insert his tech Leviathan into banking, with a throwaway “Trust us” line that few if any will believe. Good Lord, can’t this man-child be controlled somehow by actual functioning adults?
16
@Vic Bold II
Brilliant comment! I particularly like "imperfectly formed proto-adult." However, you did omit "greedy," one of Zuckerberg's primary traits. Unfortunately, many of the "functioning?" adults in Congress are probably receiving campaign contributions from him.
10
He should be investigated and bring justice for fraud and lies.
6
Let's get something straight "many of the most successful people in the world of technological development fall within the ASD Spectrum". These people are successful because of their laser focus on a problem or an issue.
Facebook is focused on being and remaining the largest information platform in the world. If you want to restrict content, Facebook is not the place to start, your ask/demand will tear at the core of every engineer ever working on the platform.
You have to go back to Benjamin Franklin and his profound belief that when truth and lies have fair play, the former is always an over match for the latter.
Facebook is not enticing foreign powers to impact our election, the American public is simply proving H.L. Mencken right when he wrote "On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."
Facebook has finally given the public the tools needed to do just that. It is up to the rest of us to overpower the "plain folks" and turn this country around. Facebook is a binary tool, it can be used for good or bad, it can't be built to favor one or the other.
So, if you want to get rid of our current "outright moron", it’s up to you to use the tools Facebook gave you to make that happen.
6
@William
You are correct, Facebook could not mislead an educated public. What is required is a degraded educational system and Facebook. Apparently both these goals of the "government is bad" crowd have been achieved. Trying to reverse these achievements remains a valid goal.
That Facebook is intent neutral seems awfully simplistic. Using your argument, the NRA is correct - a gun is neutral, it can be used for good or bad reasons. The fact that it is more often used poorly, by those who have limited judgment, is neglected in that analysis. Similarly, calling out a warning is often a good thing. Calling fire in a crowded theater when there is none may lead to criminal liability. Facebook broadcasting shouts of fire when there is none should also lead to criminal liability.
5
Matt Zuckerberg is a truly despicable human being. A lier and a crook since he launched his company. Who brings up people like him? He’s no better than Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman.
12
I do not know the other two AGs who didn't sign on to the Facebook investigation, but the Attorney General of Georgia is one who isn't participating. Attorney General Chris Carr declined to state why, but the Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted that Carr had received close to $13K in campaign contributions from Facebook. Appears that Zuckerberg got at least one politician in his pocket.
14
Mr. Zuckerberg, there is a way to decrease the pressure on Facebook to censure and fact check political ads. Let me and other users do it. At present, I cannot block political ads of candidates or PACs as a category. I have to “hide” ads one by one by one. When I do, and FB asks why, “it’s political” isn’t one of the canned responses. That suggests you don’t want to keep data on how many users hide ads so you can plead ignorance when advertisers ask. You told Congress today during your testimony that your refusal to fact check ads by politicians wasn’t about the money. When anyone says that we know it means exactly the opposite.
28
Yessir - with the Supreme Court green lighting unlimited amounts of dark money in elections, nothing makes me feel more secure than a company defending false political adverts as "free speech" firing up a cryptocurrency that operates outside the scrutiny of financial institutions. What could go wrong?
28
@gdurt
Based in Switzerland, no less!
7
I have yet to see any evidence that suggests that Zuckerberg is interested in anything besides increasing his personal wealth. Congress would be wise to ban all cryptocurrencies, which are part of the libertarian attack on government and, therefore, on democracy.
29
Zuckerberg is a 21st century equivalent of William Randolph Hearst.
For Hearst, it was building the largest newspaper chain and media company in his era.. and who used it to control the narrative of all things political and social, focused on his personal interests.
For Zuckerberg... it's social media, and is even more nepharious then Hearst was.
22
I am a Facebook user. However, this would not be a great idea for a few reasons.
1) Hackers. Mark would have to make sure security is at it's upmost if he uses this type of technology. Even Sony realized this when people where getting hacked on the Playstation consoles.
2) Cost if any. If he would make this, he may charge for this technology to be used among users. People currently use Cashapp which is actually pretty close to what he proposes.
Mark did indicate that if he does this that it may not work. People should at least give him credit for at least trying things that could benefit the world. Like he said, it does not hurt to try. However, I do not think Mark has a fact-checking software on the Facebook App. There are sources that fact check other media sources on Facebook. Which means he possibly do have other people to fact check something online. I, personally had my run ends with fact checkers when I had posted something about two years ago and in my notifications it alerts what media outlet fact checked that particular post. If a person has Facebook you may have seen it.
@Setera
He admits it may not work.. but wants to move ahead anyway. /eyeroll.
This is the thing with Zukerberg, and so many startup executives to be honest.. the believe in moving fast and breaking things.. and leaving the pieces for others to clean up while he counts is big fat stack of wealth.
He's a punk pretending to be a serious and responsible corporate executive.
11
Under Maxine Water’s Chairmanship, the House Financial Services Committee has become a forum for leftist ideologies to berate successful businesses and their executives and tout their socialists agendas. The Democratic members of the Committee come prepared with scripted questions and follow-up responses. They don’t even listen to the answers provided by those called to testify. A classic example was Representative Velasquez shameful treatment, earlier this week, of HUD Secretary Ben Carson. Her Spanglish retorts to his answers were coming from her mouth before he even finished speaking. It’s nothing but a clown show.
12
@William
FaceBook is not a successful business.
It freely steals peoples personal information and sells it to 3rd parties.
It freely allows foreign intelligence services to exploit it's system for covert influence campaigns.
Trust me... Facebooks business model will crash and burn in the coming years... and Zuck knows it.. which is why he is scrabling to pivot into shadow banking with Libra.
8
@William
How is it socialism to try to require Facebook to abide by the same standards that apply to television, radio, newspapers, and private citizens? Slander and libel aren't legal, and Facebook knowingly provides a forum for them. If other forms of media have to police their advertisers, why shouldn't Facebook? (By the way, I think you're confusing socialism with communism and fascism, but throwing any of them into the criticism of how Zuckerberg operates is a red herring.)
5
@William
Perhaps Velasquez could have had better comic timing on her retorts, but Carson has never said anything worth waiting to hear.
Businesses can be both successful and criminal, look at your president.
4
i quit facebook over 2 years ago.. and I survived..
the lucky part here is that as he allows unregulated speech, people will eventually tire of it..and move on
6
Yay Representative Posey! Kudos for bringing up vaccine safety censorship!
3
Facebook, and guns, are like cars. There is nothing inherently dangerous about a car (for the trained). But so many have done so many stupid things that society has decided to protect us from our-selves and, more importantly, all those doing stupid things, that cars now have airbags, seat-belts, shatter-proof glass, anti-lock brakes, and thousands of other safety features.
It's time we did the same with the machines that allow us to spew lies and bullets.
16
Delete your Facebook accounts NOW. They have attacked and are attacking the republic.
18
I will pull all my money out of all my accounts, put it in a pile, and set fire to it before I let Zuckerberg's Facebook handle it in any way, digital or not.
27
Facebook would have you believe it’s the sandbox of the Internet, a safe place to socialize with friends and family. But below Facebook’s surface is a sadistic mean streak, an algorithm that persecutes users in error, targets them to advertise, and punishes them for not. I am a victim of Facebook discrimination.
On November 19, 2013 I launched a Facebook page dedicated to presenting my paintings. Since its inception it garnered several thousand followers and tens of thousands of “Likes”.
3.4 billion Facebook accounts were purged during the first half of 2019. Unfortunately, my Facebook page was swept up in the Dragnet. I tried every means imaginable to contact Facebook.
There is no human support. Facebook is an empty box! If someone is kidnapped or murdered, Facebook instructs the law to contact them by email.
Facebook’s rationalization for this cavalier lack of accountability is that it provides its service for free. “We owe users nothing because we charge users nothing.” This logic extends to lawsuits. How much can you sue a company you haven’t paid anything to, for? It’s a specious argument and a con game. There is only one Facebook. It’s a monopoly that should be broken up and regulated like a public utility.
People are beginning to think I’m dead. Facebook blocks all replies. The company dismantled my fan page and banned me for sixty days. Facebook, which once strived to be the sandbox of the Internet, has transformed into a Kafka-esque nightmare.
8
It amazes me that Democrats really want cubicle dwellers at Facebook or Artificial Intelligence to decide when something is a lie in a political ad. Are they really that sure that they know a lie when they see one? Was it a lie when Obama said that "if you wanted to keep your doctor, you could", with Obamacare? How about when Elizabeth Warren lays out plans that would thoroughly disrupt the economy we have and promise to replace it with one we don't have? How about "a chicken in every pot"?
I think we're beginning to see what happens when a broken K-12 and higher ed system that fails to teach how to critically think runs into the modern media environment. All these snow flakes must be protected against the possibility of being exposed to an exaggeration or outright lie. Oh the horror!
10
First Zuckerburg stole the idea for Facebook. Then he created a platform which was an elaborate version of "hot or not" creating an entire generation struggling with FOMO. Then he undermined the media landscape and became the chief purveyor of fake news which undermined the 2016 election. And now he wants to undermine our financial institutions.
So why do we trust or like this guy? Let's not.
16
The government allowed Facebook special rules for its platform. It is time to revise or remove the rules and protect user's data, among other things. It would also be nice if news postings were fact checked or a link provided. Just allowing news to be posting without the source and fact based info is wrong; it is not news and /or they should treat the platform as an entertainment only (with no news),
6
The notion that FB should be allowed (to be paid for) to advertise lies is absurd and immoral. It’s one thing if a friend posts a lie, but an group or organization or company? If Zuckerberg doesn’t change his tune it will be the end of FB. Facebook: All the News that’s NOT fit.
7
Internet should be regulated as a public utility by FCC.
8
Break up Facebook (and Google and Amazon, too, if you'd like). But ultimately the problem here is the users not the pushers. People who wish to do so can stay well-informed and in close contact with friends and kin who matter to them without hanging out all of their intimate personal laundry on social media sites for the new monopolists to hoover and then sell to whichsoever merchant or snoop pays the most. It's a choice.
5
If anyone wants to understand the danger of only focusing on STEM education and not civics, I give you Zuckerberg. He would fit well in Xi's government.
9
@Anthony
Most STEM graduates continue to enjoy a moral compass.
Zuckerberg never graduated from Harvard. I suspect he became fascinated by the business curriculum. MBAs are the ones you need to watch. They only see the bottom line.
On the other hand:
"In 1963, when Xi was age 10, his father was purged from the Party and sent to work in a factory in Luoyang, Henan.[6] In May 1966, the Cultural Revolution cut short Xi's secondary education when all secondary classes were halted for students to criticise and fight their teachers. Student militants ransacked the Xi family home and one of Xi's sisters, Xi Heping, was killed.[7] Later, his mother was forced to publicly denounce his father, as he was paraded before a crowd as an enemy of the revolution. His father was later thrown into prison in 1968 when Xi was aged 15 and would not see his father again until 1972. Without the protection of his father, Xi was sent to work in Liangjiahe Village, Wen'anyi Town, Yanchuan County, Yan'an, Shaanxi, in 1969 in Mao Zedong's Down to the Countryside Movement.[8] He worked as the party secretary of Liangjiahe, where he lived in a cave.[9] After a few months, unable to stand rural life, he ran away to Beijing. He was arrested during a crackdown on deserters from the countryside and sent to a work camp to dig ditches.[from Wikipedia]".
1
I am strongly in favor of imposing real regulation on Facebook, if not breaking it up entirely. Zuckerberg has plenty of money; he should step down immediately as he’s consistently demonstrated an inability to clean up his act or take responsibility for the monster he’s created. You know, the one he invented in college to rate female students’ appearances. What a guy. If there’s anything that shows just how toxic and flawed our late stage capitalism really is, it’s the elevation of the worst among us (looking at you, Trump) to positions of such absurd wealth, power, and immunity from consequences.
11
Zuckerberg: If you don't disrupt the state, you don't get rich, right? This is what I would say to him if I had the chance. He cannot be trusted and has proven he has no compassion for the "little man". This man is loaded with propaganda and should be treated with the utmost of caution.
9
Zuckerberg needs to have some long talks with Bill Gates and Warren Buffet about great wealth and the societal responsibilities that come with it. He needs time to mature too, perhaps a business sabbatical is in order?
5
He should get grilled on everything. He is partially responsible for the Trump presidency.
6
Conflating FB innovations with American interests is a flawed concept.
6
Just say no. He may have a good argument that banking is not accessible to many people. But Facebook handling a financial exchange? That’s scarier than growing brains in a petri dish. Just because he can define a problem doesn’t mean he has the integrity to develop and manage it.
8
@Peters Great comments!
1
Focusing on one person is just a distraction from the root of the problem: the failure of our politicians to enact a universal privacy law banning unwarranted surveillance. Politicians are responsible for our out-of-control invasion of privacy, which would not have been tolerated before the monetization of unwarranted surveillance.
10
Zuckerberg invented Facebook in college and it's enabled him to build a fortune of $82 billion.
Zuckerberg has gone on to purchase a vast number of homes, often buying up and destroying houses which surround his purchases to ensure his 'privacy.' The only 'privacy' he cares about is his own.
Mark Zuckerberg was only 20 when he developed Facebook and is only 35 now. He understandably did not consider when he built Facebook as a 'dating' profile what the worldwide repercussions would be. But he's become used to having the world be the way he wants it to be and his stance on things like political content on Facebook is endangering our democracy.
It's time for laws that would reign Mark Zuckerberg in. Facebook is a essentially a publisher and should be required to embrace the same responsibilities as other publishers or the site should be shut down.
Facebook and Zuckerberg are becoming tools of those who would unfairly influence our elections because they understand how to leverage Facebook.
Zuckerberg shouldn't be able to buy privilege that allows his platform to knowingly undermine democracy.
33
I think the best way to guarantee a reasonable "quality" of all features / capabilities implemented at Facebook, is a standardization process that is managed by an independent non profit third party.
We have the FDA to approve medications / procedures for human beings
We have the FTC regulating market forces and it protects customers
We have the FCC to regulate communications
We have the SEC overseeing financial transactions
And there are standardization bodies who are developing technical recommendations.
When a social network may impact the behavior of 2 Billion people per months, the most important question to answer is who and/or what is validating and testing the algorithms, functions, capabilities, services developed against what (open) specifications? Yet, still in limbo, who own the data and who/what may have access to the data? Do we understand the impacts on different cultures/societies/demographics? Is the network biased or neutral - and how is that assessed?
As for the "Information" "shared" in social networks, we should have a clear understanding about what is evidence based (i.e. facts) and what is just an opinion. The "Freedom of Speech" comes with some responsibilities because not everyone is capable of making "informed" decisions. Informed decisions can be done when/if all information is available (e.g. pros/cons) and understood.
There are many open questions the CEO cannot answer, but there are many experts who may help to answer tho questions!
6
The evidence shows that the harm that Facebook does to our society is far greater than the benefits it brings.
This company facilitates foreign manipulation of our elections. This company welcomes child pornographers and human traffickers to its ad space. This company believes that it has no ethical obligation to assure honest advertising, either of products and services or from politicians. This company has been a leading cause of destroying the nation's once-thriving, vitally needed news ecosystem, which has encouraged totalitarian and anti-democratic impulses from our current president among others. This company exploits the private and personal data of its many users for its own profit and does nothing at all to compensate those users for the use of that data. This company is one of the three or four leading destroyers of privacy in the world.
All in all, I don't think it is an exaggeration to say that Facebook is a fascist influence in our society. It should and must be broken up for the good of our democracy, to protect our children, and to preserve our privacy.
18
This guy needs to take some responsibility and make sure there is a standard of truth for political ads on facebook. Raking in the cash in a way that damages society should not be allowed.
4
Mark Zuckerberg testifies before Congress....AGAIN? Come on now, do we really expect to hear the TRUTH behind the strategy to capture as much of our personal data and use it, for profit, from this man? We've heard it all before. We've heard him speak, unknowingly, about ways to protect his company from government scrutiny. ACTIONS speak louder than words and frankly I don't believe anything this man says, let alone sitting before a Congressional panel ONCE AGAIN.
12
Zuckerberg is 35 years old and has a net worth of $69 billion. What he has created to earn that net worth is a platform that allows people to connect with each other, but also spreads misinformation and disregards personal privacy to such an extent as to put our democracy at risk. Now he wants us to trust him with financial currency? It's highly unlikely that he's interested in this so that poor people can more easily send money home.
17
For at least a month before the next election in November 2020, Congress should pass a law to SHUT. FACEBOOK. DOWN. at least until a few days after the election.
On September 11, 2001, after four passenger planes became human bombs attacking America, the entire US airspace was shut down for a few days (I don't recall how many exactly) with only fighter jets patrolling our skies. However immense the dislocation, this had to be done and planes had to land wherever they were. There was even a play about those generously housed in Newfoundland.
Facebook has become a toxic river highway into the heart of American democracy. It must be confronted and controlled like we do for food and agricultural products. Until this can be done effectively, we must, in the least, shut down an out of control Facebook in the weeks before the next election.
Congress must act on this now.
4
Sorry, Mark. The "trust train" has left the station, I'd no longer trust Facebook, Libra, etc. with my financial information than I'd trust them with my health information or anything else.
15
He still looks like a deer in the headlights and someone who is without a clue. The camera is not kind to him. He never presents with authority or command.
4
Facebook is the reason we have trump and his gang of storm trooper in DC>
Here's an idea: quit facebook.
because the problem with it is YOU are the product.
And you are being manipulated.
I hate Facebook.
16
Just the fact that Republicans were easier on Zuckerberg tells you what a sleezy person he is
9
We like the poorly educated, Trump said during his campaign.
Zuckerberg likes them too. Under the guise of helping those in poverty, he will push his LIbra, anticipating a new gold mine for himself. Those poorly educated already do not understand how they are being used by Facebook. He and Trump have much is common, thus his appeal to Republicans. A smoother version of Trump, he sees his power as beyond bounds of law and government oversight, an annoyance to him, is to be evaded and misled.
7
FB: The Malevolent Platform of Doom.
The seduction of the social network is a Siren song luring our democracy towards wreckage.
I downloaded and deleted my FB data and deleted my account. You can, and should, too.
Turn away from the Siren song, and we will all benefit as FB shrivels and its profoundly negative impacts are diminished.
12
Facebook should voluntarily suspend all political ads until they can can be regulated by the federal government.
17
@Markymark - Facebook has offered that and Democrats (Adam Schiff) said no. Dem's only want political ads that they approve of.
So, we are going to let Facebook, the company that launched a vindictive and baseless attack campaign against George Soros, control a currency exchange that is already favored by human traffickers and organized crime because of its lack of transparency...
This is the part of the movie where the protagonists scientist is warning the Townspeople that the volcano is going to erupt any second, but the mayor says the scientist is wrong and promises the townspeople that their county fair will go on as planned.
33
This is such a bad idea I can't believe he has the chutzpah to proceed with it. Yeah since they have done such a great job with facebook lets put them in charge of this?
He needs to be broken up as does Bezos....
I think we are living in the new gilded age.
34
@Marti Mart you don’t think it, we are. I just finished reading a New Yorker article about Bezos’ quest to make Amazon the dominant player along many platforms. Zuckerberg is doing the same, stifling innovation and competition in the process. The question is whether the US will get up the gumption to challenge these monstrosities as the EU has done.
29
Be careful what you wish for. The Federal Reserve has the power to regulate any deposit taking insitutions plus numerous agencies may have power to regulate organizations that are in the "currency" business. If they did not right now, legislations will play catch up in time.
GE and GM both chose to spin off their credit business when they get classified as "too big to fail" to avoid having to jump through hoops imposed by the regulators, and GS is still losing billions from its "on-line" banking business because they want to have the Federal Reserve backing if there is ever a run on the bank....
4
- The crypto currency technology can help the world and can solve a lot of problems.
- Just not in the hands of facebook
They are already too big and they will keep doing what they do best: Stifle innovation.
9
Has anyone researched the board members of Libra in Switzerland? The most influential members appear to all come from a Greek family with the same sur name. Although Greece is second only to Japan in the amount of national debt, their bankers--along with other European banks--seem to be doing more than just fine, despite austerity for the Greek citizenry. (Just finished reading Adults in the Room by Yanis Varoufakis). Switzerland has always been a haven to hide money and who better to run your private cryptocurrency central bank than perhaps Greeks with banking experience? Recently, I had to sell a vehicle and it was NOT listed on FB market place. Nor would I buy anything on FB. I personally think it is a way to flout the financial and trade laws of any country that allows it platform. Will this currency eventually be limited to only FB or a few other chosen tech companies? How do you get your money back then?
3
Cryptocurrencies should be outlawed. While many petty reasons are used to justify them, in practice they are havens for tax evasion, drug dealing, and dark money for corrupt purposes.
Every sovereign nation can create a digital currency and retain control of the tax system and money movement.
Monetary policy is devalued with the proliferation of various cryptocurrencies, and the potential for systemically dangerous speculation and uncontrollable money supply growth and contractions will have adverse real world impact.
Foreign central banks must act sooner than later to issue sovereign digital currencies and outlaw fraudulent cryptocurrencies that trade like penny stocks.
22
Can we add in, please, the fact that any blockchain cryptocurrency uses VAST amounts of electricity/computing power. It's the last thing we need in a time of climate crisis and Zuckerberg is the last one--o.k., maybe next to last, ahead of Bezos--to be in charge of it.
14
Oligarchs like Zuckerberg have too much unelected, undemocratic power over our nation and our politics. Not only do we need to break up monopolies like his, we need an end to the dark money politics of Citizens United, a return to higher tax rates on corporations and high net worth individuals, and a restoration of the Fairness Doctrine in all forms of media. It's because of Facebook that Russia was able to manipulate the American electorate, through lies and propaganda, into electing the worst and most corrupt leader in our nation's history. That can't happen again. "Move Fast and Break Things" does not apply to our democracy, Mr. Zuckerberg.
162
@Dominic
He was widely elected by people who chose and continue to choose to use his product offerings. This is the only reason he has any power whatsoever. Undemocratic? People signed up for his services willingly and continue to use their product offerings to this day freely. It is not a life necessity to use Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp. There are many other alternatives, and in my view, most don't add any much value to our lives anyhow.
If people do not like what Facebook and its subsidiaries do, they do NOT have to use the services. I'm exhausted of the "it's not that easy to quit Facebook" arguments. Yes, it is that easy. Vote with your free will and walk away from Facebook if you have a problem.
21
@John Smith Thank you, John, for saying what needs to be said: Facebook is not like oxygen, water and food; humans do not NEED to use Facebook. I quit Facebook years ago and have never looked back. If the many millions of Facebook users suddenly closed their accounts, the company ends.
23
@John Smith There are no alternatives. Instagram is the closest, also owned by Facebook. But it doesn't have my 20 year history.
My Mom is not on instagram and I don't know the "handles" of my friends from a decade ago. My photos, thoughts, and life events from the past 20 years are owned by Facebook. It's not about "quitting" Facebook it's about not having ownership and control of 20 years of content you created.
Facebook isn't a product. We are the product, We create the content and Facebook just sells it to whoever they please without our consent.
An open Facebook could be created, hosted across a variety of cloud solutions etc. We could own our content but pay for storage, connectivity, etc, but Facebook will not allow this. They sue and buy anyone tries this. They are a straight up unethical Monopoly.
17
If you have a Facebook account you are part of the problem. I don't understand how anyone can support this company after all they've done the past few years.
53
@Gunnar
It put me in touch with friends I haven't seen for decades. That's the blessing. On the other side is a long list of curses...
3
@Gunnar I agree. At this point, I would not trust Mark Zuckerberg with string.
2
Piling on? Not that I have any sympathy for any billionaire or that Facebook shouldn't be under intense scrutiny (or better yet cease to exist), but being the face of the largest consumer-facing company in the world Zuckerberg is a lot easier target than a string-puller like, say, a Koch bro.
7
Zuckerberg is willfully delusional. He refuses to acknowledge the extremely detrimental effect his company has on our society.
The basic model of "persuasive technology" is a clear danger. Facebook and similar companies should not be allowed to continue.
Unfortunately,Trump and the Republicans have figured this out. They are actively utilizing the social media to affect the elections. It is entirely possible that i 2020 the Republicans will lose the popular vote, yet win the Electoral College and the Senate because they are much more skillful than the Democrats at using social media.
Meanwhile, Zuck buys Hawaiian islands with his wealth, while continuing his self-righteous babble about protecting "freedom of speech".
35
@Democracy / Plutocracy
"It is entirely possible that i 2020 the Republicans will lose the popular vote, yet win the Electoral College and the Senate because they are much more skillful than the Democrats at using social media. "
uhm...they already did that once... ;|
Perhaps Zuck - who is just plain lucky enough to have helped destroy democracy and while reaping billions from it - should retire to his Hawaiian islands before he wakes up and figures out he's been played by many bad actors.
5
@Pandora's Box -Didn't Trudeau just win the Canadian election while losing the popular vote?
1
Truly I don’t think he has a full grasp on the issues or the functionality related to a private business of cryptocurrency. Frankly he had a BIG idea for a social networking app when he was very young. He’s made millions. But he is completely over his head on policies, issues and implications of his own business. His advice is based on driving value ($) for himself and his holders above all else. If he can make money posting lies, he will post lies. We’ve already seen this. In God we trust. In Zuckerberg we need robust regulations.
12
"Face Book."
The name says it all. Its was a way for nerds to look for girls in college. A bit creepy. Brilliant...not so much.
This computer geek had one mildly innovative idea. He took the "face book" that many organizations have had in print and innovated it to allow input. He allowed you to glamorize your life and stalk others.
Trust him with assets like cryptocurrency. I don't think so
40
Why anyone is on Facebook with this guy in charge is a complete mystery to me. I don't trust him as far as I could pick him up and toss him across the room.
11
Facebook is a major platform for criminal behavior. A friend of mine received a Facebook message from a longtime, highly regarded friend of his informing him of a great investment opportunity. Turns out his friend’s Facebook page had been hacked and was being used to scam unwitting friends. Did Facebook accept any responsibility for the thousands of dollars lost? Of course not. And Facebook wants us to believe we should entrust our finances with it. Delighted Congress is trying to keep us safe while Mr. Zuckerberg enjoys his billions.
30
"Mr. Zuckerberg described Libra as a democratizing financial system that would benefit mostly poor consumers, as well as the estimated 14 million people in the United States who do not have access to bank accounts and who cannot afford banking fees."
I have never understood how there are so many people in this country who don't have bank accounts. I know of a bank that charges six dollars a month for a checking account, and that fee is waived under circumstances that are easy to meet. Who can't afford six dollars a month?!
5
Ok I’ll bite- if you make $10 per hour and work all the time, with no obliging wife at home, making it a home - and so, you must be your own wife- make your own meals do your own shopping pay the bills and organize a home life.
Usually this is impossible- especially with unstable scheduling.
So- if you overshoot with your debit card on your extremely stretched salary- you get $35 dollar fees, which mount quickly and when your check is deposited you find little money left, after cascading fees.
This is unpleasant and expensive and millennials appear to have opted out of the system- the ones I know use Venmo for everything.
15
@Phil, you might be surprised. It's sad, but that $6 might make the difference between a low-wage worker being able to afford gas to commute to work the day before payday. I know people to whom that has happened. It stinks, scraping for the last handful of change to buy gas for a commute to work and home. Too many working people make these calculations every single day in this country.
That's not to defend Zuckerberg, or his cryptocurrency project. I'm leery of this for the same reasons governments are leery of it: who will regulate it? What guarantees will there be that, if that system crashes and burns, people who use it will be reimbursed? After all, it's their hard-earned money, not Libra's. I find it impossible to bring myself to believe that any corporation can be brought to do the right thing, unless governmental regulatory power is brought to bear.
11
@Phil
Imagining the poor consumers' data theft, abuses to their identity, etc. in the Fbook "www" bubble. argh!
'“American innovation is on trial today in this hearing,” Mr. McHenry said.'
I laughed when I read that. Libra is a joke. It's a centralized system just like PayPal or Venmo, but using a blockchain to process transactions instead of traditional API calls and controlled mostly by Facebook. Libra is using cryptocurrency as a buzzword, possibly to distract from the fact that it doesn't provide any benefits to the end user while getting Facebook's tentacles even deeper into our lives.
92
@Andrew Nailed it!
2
There's a strange mix of jealousy and hoped-for schadenfreude on this comment board regarding Mark Zuckerberg and his company. Get over it. FB is here to stay. It has its negatives, but most can be eliminated entirely by any person with a mouse (deactivate your account or don't use the product if you are concerned about your privacy), or massively mitigated (don't 'friend' people you don't know or seek peoples' comments on FB, or links available on FB, for actual news or anything not related to family-and-friends stuff.
Real news is available on other trusted cites, called newspapers (well, most newspapers), which employ professional people, who, at their best, have endeavored to search for truth and write it up or post images or sound about it.
FB is like having a conversation with all of your family and friends (really, your soon to be fading friends and old acquaintances, some lost and almost forgotten, but-for occasional FB updates, soon to be lost in the infinite scroll).
Really, you have nothing to fear from FB; FB is liitle more than those ragged books (on steroids) folks used to pass around in high school where all your friends and foes could sign in and sound off about any issue under the sun. Keep it in in perspective.
10
@Mark F When you are a user of a fb account, you become the product being sold by Facebook Corporation. Most people did not figure this out in the early days as it's not really obvious what transaction you are doing when you give them your data- just because you don't exchange money for the privilege of providing your data to fb corp it is not at all 'free' as advertised. In fact the value of your data is incalculable (though I think the FB IPO placed it at ~$200/user). Big Data is a pernicious business and you would do well to be wary of the potential downsides and don't accept the airy platitudes about "communities" and "sharing" and "conversations" and "open exchange of information". This has become about fb making a lot of money and gaining power and don't forget it was a platform used for tampering with our democracy. Keep it in perspective.
18
@Mark F
I think you mean envy as opposed to jealousy. And yes, we are envious of countries that don't have 243 year old democracies threatened by Facebook.
8
@Mark F I chuckle at the notion that FB is here to stay. Nothing in this life, particularly economic life, is permanent.
7
Interesting how GOP is becoming more supportive of FB. It's clearly becoming a new arm for anonymous dark money and even darker foreign money advertisement in their campaigns. I hope regulations begin to end their ability to perform political advertisements. They don't have the means to properly police their political advertisements, and clearly don't care about the impacts of their decisions if it brings in revenue.
35
FaceBook is a yuuuge mess and has undue influence in far too many areas already without running a major e-currency. Just say no to FaceBook.
40
Zuckerberg who can't contains peoples' personal information because he wants to make a buck in charge of their money. What a joke.
36
Zuckerberg is a con man like Trump out to make the most bucks he can from the people.
85
Aside from the fact that Mark Zuckerberg developed what has proven to be a very popular app that has changed society, does anyone really care what he thinks? He seems not to have a world view of what FaceBook is other than as a business platform and even then, he has precious little to say regarding the unintended consequences of what he has unleashed upon us all.
FaceBook is a moral mine field and the questions abound. I think it's time for Zuckerberg to become a "silent" partner and get some people in there who can truly guide this behmoth safely rather than the haphazard guidance it has had under his leadership listing from laissez faire policies to attempts to reign in inappropriate behavior,
In short, it's time for him to go.
54
@steve
"Aside from the fact that Mark Zuckerberg developed what has proven to be a very popular app that has changed society"
Changing society...that's a pretty big thing to set "aside", most people do little with their lives and have at best a small impact on the world. His impact has been enormous. As unlikable and robotic as he is, he has ever right to run the company he created and it makes complete sense as to why people care what he thinks. He did in fact change the world and create tremendous value.
2
@John Smith I hear what you're saying, truly. But here's the point: his platform has changed the world, in ways that are both beneficial and highly destructive. As you say, Zuckerberg has enormous impact and power. With that comes with an equally awesome responsibility to ensure that this tool is not manipulated in such a way that the rights of individuals and societies are not infringed. From what I've seen, either he isn't aware that he has that responsibility, or he just doesn't care. My perception is that the latter is closer to the truth.
6
@John Smith "He did in fact change the world and create tremendous value."
Sure, lots of value... as long as you don't factor in all those pesky negative externalities, like fire-hosing disinformation onto low-information voters. But damage to society doesn't show up in a shareholder's report.
14
If a private company creates and is responsible for a cryptocurrency, it will be impossible to have any confidence that taxation is administered according to law.
32
Nothing new under the sun. Maybe it’s different in Canada.
Zuckerberg & his cohorts have done some important work with social media. However, their negligence to honestly, truthfully, and clearly attempt to address and remediate the deep flaws within the unwieldy network that is now Facebook is not just cause for concern; It is cause for action.
FB's consistent lack of transparency, coupled with a need to grow beyond their control, all while not being willing to control & regulate those areas (political ads for instance) that they actually can exert oversight, feels as if they have morphed from a place of enthusiastic benevolence to use self-interest.
It is time for them to either grow up and become far more responsible, or to become deeply regulated. Otherwise, they really will continue to do lasting harm.
43
Would you really use a currency that is backed by the 'full faith and credit' of Mark Zuckerberg??
164
Not in a million years.
42
@tom
I only use money printed by the government, and stored in my bank. My world is analogue, except for the stuff on my computer. My money is, and will be, analogue. Even so, its worth goes up and down, but at least I can put it in my pocket or hold it in my hand. Check, please!
8
When you look up the word disingenuous in the dictionary, there is a picture of Mark Zuckerberg. Suddenly the man who turned the other way when our democracy was at stake, who accepted payments denominated in rubles for US campaign ads, who allows blatant lies in campaign ads to this day wants to help poor, under-banked people throughout the world? Seriously? Did we all miss a meeting? In what universe are the world's poor, under-banked populations clamoring for a crypto currency?
210
@MD precisely. My hard-earned cash is safer under the mattress than in Libra or any other cryptocurrency.
Does no-one study the history of the Great Depression anymore? Sheesh.
17
@md. In the gun and drug dealing universe, zuckerburg’s currency could be very useful indeed. Just think: you could order your fentanyl from China with no questions asked!
8
Zuckerberg becomes more and more unlikable and untrustworthy by the day.
He has made millions off of fake news, propaganda and hate speech, he has violated the privacy of all of his users, and every time we turn around, he is defending himself in Washington. He has been caught in how many lies during his previous testimonies, so far?
Yesterday, it was all over cable news that he has been sending his employees messages to support Mayor Pete and not Warren, in attempts to sway the nomination.
His money has gone to his head and he has become exactly what is wrong with America.
It's time for him to sell FB and move to a private island.
155
@Gus Zuke was riding around the Midwest with Mayor Pete so no surprise he tells employees who to vote for since he knows he will have to give up some gold if Warren is elected.
12
He starts with a big promise that no honest person would ever make. Just like the false promise that worked to allow his website go unregulated from inception.
Why do we allow a man child whose amorality is so obvious to have control of so much information that can be and has been used illicitly? What he hasn't used to profit himself without regard for the rest of us, he has allowed to be used by others to harm us.
This kid has never had to be responsible to anyone beyond his parents who it seems over indulged him. Had he been raised right there would be no problem because his morality would not let him do the things he has done for money.
73
This massive platform needs serious regulation, I read that 40% of Americans rely on Facebook for all of their news and it's like the wild west on the site. Forget this crytocurrency that Zuckerberg wants, it fascinates him, and regulate them, protect our personal information and if things don't improve, bring the Facebook era to an end.
109
It will surely be eclipsed by the Next Big Thing.
1