Anthony Quintana via Wikimedia

On Tuesday, Mark Zuckerberg faced Congress in a hearing about the role of Facebook in the modern world and the data privacy of its users. It was Zuckerberg’s first time in Congress, and over 40 senators watched him being questioned about the events that took place between the firm, Cambridge Analytica, and Facebook.

In 2013, Cambridge Analytica released a questionaire on Facebook, which around 270,000 people answered. Then, Cambridge Analytica obtained the information of 84 million users. When this news was made public, Mark Zuckerberg’s company took a major hit as many investors backed out, fearing the fall of Facebook.

Zuckerberg has been scrambling to pick up the pieces of what was once one of the most powerful tech companies on Earth. Before this hearing, Zuckerberg hadn’t acknowledged the full extent of Facebook’s actions.

During the five hour hearing, Zuckerberg apologized for the mistakes that Facebook made toward compromising its user privacy.

“We didn’t take a broad enough view of our responsibility, and that was a big mistake. It was my mistake, and I’m sorry. I started Facebook, I run it, and I’m responsible for what happens here,” said Zuckerberg on Tuesday.

There are several reasons that Congress put on this hearing. First, the American public has been questioning user safety, privacy and the rights of the user to keep their data to themselves. Several tech companies have not put the user first, and pressure from the user on these companies has forced them to change. For example, back in December 2017, there was great controversy dealing with Apple slowing down iPhone performance in order to urge users to purchase new iPhones. It ultimately ended up with Apple becoming much more clear concerning their new updates, and the implementation of a switch that allowed users to turn on and off battery throttling.

Some believe that this strain on companies to create the best experience for the user is beneficial to the overall economy, while others believe that this kind of pressure goes against the purpose of a business in the first place.

“The whole point of business is to make money. While it benefits the user when this change occurs, too much control on companies can throttle growth and competition, which is what American commerce is based on in the first place,” said sophomore Aadil Manazir.

Another reason why Congress held this hearing is to assess the situation and to determine whether legislative action concerning the social and advertising giant that is Facebook should be regulated further. Google and Facebook control much of the internet, and many question this “duopoly.”

Furthermore, Congress always likes to make a public show of grilling social giants. This event was televised everywhere in the United States. It allows lawmakers to show that they care about this issue that affects many US citizens.

This federal hearing will have many implications in the future, concerning public safety, data privacy and regulation.