Mark Zuckerberg to finally speak out on Cambridge Analytica controversy: report

Mark Zuckerberg to finally speak out on Cambridge Analytica controversy

Mark Zuckerberg is finally going to face the music on Cambridge Analytica
Mark Zuckerberg is finally going to face the music on Cambridge Analytica

Image: AP/REX/Shutterstock

The boy king will finally address his subjects.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who has been conspicuously silent about the controversy surrounding Cambridge Analytica, and its reported misuse of Facebook data to help influence the 2016 US election, is said to be planning a public statement about the scandal for Wednesday.

Axios reporter Mike Allen reported the news. So far neither Zuckerberg or Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg have spoken out about the scandal, which involved Cambridge Analytica using Facebook tools to harvest the data of approximately 50 million users, mostly without their knowledge or informed consent. While Facebook tightened the way developers gather data years ago, the revelations have led to calls for the public to re-examine its relationship with the social network, which now has over 2 billion users.

Zuckerberg’s silence has led to growing questions about just where the hell he is? Publications from Recode to The Atlantic to Quartz have all called for him to make a public statement, and he — and Sandberg — were reportedly absent from an internal “emergency” meeting at Facebook to address questions from employees.

While Zuckerburg hasn’t said a word since the story began to unfold late Friday, other Facebook executives, including VP Andrew Bosworth and Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos — who is reportedly on his way out from the company — have addressed the controversy on both Facebook and Twitter. Some of those comments have since been deleted.

The Axios report says Zuckerberg’s statement will be aimed at “rebuilding trust.” It also cites the reason for his delayed response as “that he wanted to say something meaningful rather than just rushing out,” and that he was initially focused on “fixing” the problem instead of speaking out about it.

Representatives for Facebook didn’t immediately respond to Mashable’s request for comment.

from Mashable! http://on.mash.to/2HRWHFp
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