Evidence of meeting #153 for Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was facebook.
A video is available from Parliament.
12:35 p.m.
Member, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, United Kingdom House of Commons
It's a matter of public record. The reason we want Mark Zuckerberg here is that we want clear evidence from Facebook executives about specific questions that we've asked.
Mr. Chan, can you answer the question for me?
12:35 p.m.
Global Policy Director, Facebook Inc.
Sir, I'm afraid that I don't want to speak out of turn, but we're not familiar with the transcript of what happened in, I think you said, February 2018. Certainly we would undertake to find out.
12:35 p.m.
Member, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, United Kingdom House of Commons
I can tell you exactly what happened. I could read the position. We raised the issue of Cambridge Analytica, the data incident and the issue related to Cambridge Analytica. We were not told that there had been a data incident involving Aleksandr Kogan, which came out subsequently in the newspapers within two months. You're aware of that incident, I assume.
12:35 p.m.
Global Policy Director, Facebook Inc.
We are aware of Cambridge Analytica. Again, we don't know, I guess, what attestations were made.
12:35 p.m.
Member, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, United Kingdom House of Commons
Did you regard that incident as a serious matter, the Cambridge Analytica incident?
12:35 p.m.
Member, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, United Kingdom House of Commons
Do you know what steps were taken within Facebook when the Cambridge Analytica incident involving Aleksandr Kogan...? What steps were taken? Do you know?
12:35 p.m.
Global Policy Director, Facebook Inc.
If I understand your question, since 2014 we have significantly reduced—
12:35 p.m.
Member, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, United Kingdom House of Commons
I asked you a specific question. What steps were taken within Facebook when you became aware of the Cambridge Analytica incident? I'm choosing my words very carefully, more sympathetically than most would. Some people would call this a data breach, but on the incident involving Aleksandr Kogan, what steps were taken by Facebook?
12:35 p.m.
Global Policy Director, Facebook Inc.
Specifically with Aleksandr Kogan's app, that app is banned from the platform, sir.
12:35 p.m.
Member, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, United Kingdom House of Commons
Who made that decision?
12:35 p.m.
Global Policy Director, Facebook Inc.
The company.... I couldn't tell you. If you were looking for a specific individual, I really couldn't tell you, but the company—
12:35 p.m.
Member, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, United Kingdom House of Commons
The specific individual I'd like to be asking this question of is Mark Zuckerberg because I want to know if he knew about this incident then. Did he know?
I've asked Mike Schroepfer this question and he told me he'd get back to me. That was last summer. Did Mark Zuckerberg know about that breach in 2015?
12:35 p.m.
Global Policy Director, Facebook Inc.
Sir, we are very happy to get you an answer to that. To the extent that you haven't had it, which seems to be what you are saying, we apologize. We obviously want to always co-operate with questioning—
12:35 p.m.
Member, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, United Kingdom House of Commons
Can I just stop you there?
You said, Mr. Potts, that the incident was serious. Can you give me an example of a business or an individual who has been taken off the Facebook platform for the type of incident or breach that happened involving Aleksandr Kogan, the sharing of information?
12:35 p.m.
Global Policy Director, Facebook Inc.
I think that you just named one. Mr. Lucas, I don't work on those issues directly, the privacy issues. Those go through a separate team.
I do want to say that we are committed, as Mr. Chan said, to getting back to you. I've had the pleasure of giving testimony in evidence before a committee recently and—
12:40 p.m.
Member, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, United Kingdom House of Commons
I'm sorry, Mr. Potts. We want basic honesty, which is a universal value, and you have people from around the world at this table. We all understand honesty. We've got different legal systems—
12:40 p.m.
Member, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, United Kingdom House of Commons
—and I want straight answers. I've heard from you four times in evidence.
12:40 p.m.
Global Policy Director, Facebook Inc.
Mr. Lucas, I fully agree with you about honesty and—
12:40 p.m.
Global Policy Director, Facebook Inc.
—and to impugn somebody's integrity, it is a strong action.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Bob Zimmer
Mr. Potts, the priority is given to members of the committee, and Mr. Lucas has the floor.
Go ahead, Mr. Lucas.
12:40 p.m.
Member, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, United Kingdom House of Commons
I have not had a straight answer from your company. You've been sent here by Mr. Zuckerberg to speak on behalf of Facebook. He's had plenty of notice of these questions.
12:40 p.m.
Global Policy Director, Facebook Inc.
I'm sorry, sir, let me just.... If I understand correctly, your question was: Are there other apps that have been banned from the platform for inappropriate use or abuse of the platform? The answer is yes.