Facebook’s Zuckerberg Faces European Parliament Grilling over Data Abuse

Facebook’s Zuckerberg Faces European Parliament Grilling over Data Abuse

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg will meet with leaders of the European Parliament on Tuesday over the data breach scandal that hit the social media giant.

Zuckerberg, who already appeared before the US Congress, is expected to answer questions about how the data of millions of Facebook users ended up in the hands of a political consultancy and data analytics firms.

His testimony comes just days before tough new European Union rules on data protection become effective.

Facebook has come under scrutiny after it emerged that Cambridge Analytica, a British political consultancy that worked on U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign, improperly acquired the data of 87 million users.

Zuckerberg has apologized for the leak in testimony to the U.S. Congress, but questions remain over how the company’s data policies let the leak happen, and more importantly, the security of users’ data going forward.

A pre-released remark said Zuckerberg will stress Facebook’s commitment to Europe, where it will employ 10,000 people by the end of the year.

“I believe deeply in what we’re doing. And when we address these challenges, I know we’ll look back and view helping people connect and giving more people a voice as a positive force here in Europe and around the world,” Zuckerberg is expected to say.

Zuckerberg will meet with the president of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, among others, and the meeting will be livestreamed after an outcry over plans to hold it in private.

Since the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook has suspended 200 apps from its platforms as it investigates third-party apps that have access to large quantities of user data.