News / Politics

British MPs threaten Zuckerberg with summons over Facebook data

Tuesday, 01 May 2018 5:23 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 02 May 2018 4:32 AM ]

Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg testifies during a US House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing about Facebook on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, April 11, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

British MPS have threatened to issue a formal summons for Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg to appear before them when he next enters the UK over a recent data scandal in which 50 million Facebook user accounts were breached unless he voluntarily agrees to answer questions regarding the activities of his social network.

The social network has faced questions over how millions of users' details got into the hands of political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, and over its wider handling of personal data.

“It is worth noting that, while Mr Zuckerberg does not normally come under the jurisdiction of the UK parliament, he will do so the next time he enters the country,” Damian Collins, the chair of the the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee wrote in a public letter to Facebook on Tuesday. “We hope that he will respond positively to our request, but, if not, the committee will resolve to issue a formal summons for him to appear when he is next in the UK.”

The committee has repeatedly invited Zuckerberg to give evidence but Zuckerberg previously declined to come in person to answer questions from British lawmaker. Instead he sent Facebook's Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer to face a four-hour grilling last month. Schroepfer apologized for errors made by the firm and vowed to do more to improve transparency.

Collins said she still wanted Zuckerberg to appear before lawmakers, ideally by May 24, and listed 39 questions or points which remained unanswered.

The scandal erupted after the Observer newspaper reported that British data analysis firm Cambridge Analytica had created psychological profiles on 50 million Facebook users via a personality prediction app, created by a researcher named Aleksandr Kogan.

The app was downloaded by 270,000 people, but also gathered their friends' data without consent -- as was possible under Facebook's rules at the time.

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