The EU President was forced to make his interview with the Facebook founder a publicly broadcast event.
After the very public humiliation Mark Zuckerberg faced while interrogated by the US Congress the Facebook founder might have hoped his hearing with European politicians would be a more private affair. But pressure from inside Brussel has resulted in Zuckerberg’s return to our home screens.
Controversial plans for a closed-door inquiry tomorrow were overturned, after five of the eight political groups demanded for the meeting to be webstreamed.
I have personally discussed with Facebook CEO Mr Zuckerberg the possibilty of webstreaming meeting with him. I am glad to announce that he has accepted this new request. Great news for EU citizens. I thank him for the respect shown towards EP. Meeting tomorrow from 18:15 to 19:30
— Antonio Tajani (@EP_President) 21 May 2018
EU politicians celebrated the u-turn, claiming the webstream would allow for “the greatest possible transparency” and public accountability of the process.
Zuckerberg is facing hard questions after Facebook stands accused of selling its users’ personal data to intelligence company Cambridge Analytica.
The chair of the European Parliament civil liberties, justice and home affairs committee, Labour MEP Claude Moraes, said:
“European citizens need to know what happens and we cannot hide this debate from them, and we welcome Facebook agreeing to the hearing being webstreamed live, following pressure from the Socialists and Democrats Group to ensure the greatest possible transparency. Holding the meeting behind closed doors would have diluted public confidence in the process and in Facebook’s willingness to live up to the responsibilities expected of it.”
EU President Antonio Tajani himself announced the hearing would be webstreamed, from 18:15 to 19:30CET.
Tomorrow, I will attend the hearing with Mr Zuckerberg as webstreaming makes it now transparent and public. EU citizens have been most affected by the recent scandal and deserve to hear the truth. What questions do you want answered by Zuckerberg? Let me know!👇
— Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) 21 May 2018
A Facebook spokesperson added:
“We’re looking forward to the meeting and happy for it to be live streamed.”
The meeting is due to be livestreamed on the EU Parliament’s website.
Expect memes.
Joana Ramiro is a reporter for Left Foot Forward. You can follow her on Twitter for all sorts of rants here.
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