Facebook's Zuckerberg to Meet European Officials Next Week -- 2nd Update
May 16 2018 - 3:07PM
Dow Jones News
By Natalia Drozdiak and Sam Schechner
BRUSSELS -- Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg will meet with
French President Emmanuel Macron and other European officials next
week, as the Silicon Valley giant tries to calm tension with
regulators and policy makers on both sides of the Atlantic.
Mr. Zuckerberg will meet with top European lawmakers in Brussels
to discuss the social network's handling of its users' personal
information, and its potential impact on European elections, said
European Parliament President Antonio Tajani. The hearing won't be
open to the public, an EU official said.
In Paris, Mr. Zuckerberg will participate in a lunchtime meeting
next Wednesday at France's Elysee Palace called "Tech for Good"
that will include such tech executives as Uber Technologies Inc.
CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, a French official said. Mr. Zuckerberg will
also have a private meeting directly with Mr. Macron, the official
added.
"We are looking forward to meeting next week with the president
of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron," the company said, adding
of its meetings with EU lawmakers: "We ... appreciate the
opportunity for dialogue, to listen to their views and show the
steps we are taking to better protect people's privacy."
A Facebook spokesman declined to comment when asked if Mr.
Zuckerberg would travel to other European capitals or meet with
other officials.
Facebook has come under fire in recent months over revelations
that the social network allowed personal information of as many as
87 million users to be obtained by data-analytics company Cambridge
Analytica. Facebook also has faced heat over interference in the
2016 U.S. presidential election by Russian operatives using the
social network.
Ahead of European Parliament elections in 2019, the EU has been
pushing platforms to do more to halt the spread of misinformation
or "fake news, " on their sites, or face possible regulation. Mr.
Macron has also directed his government to work on proposing a law
to rein in fake news during election periods.
Some EU lawmakers criticized the decision to hold the meeting in
Brussels behind closed doors. "Given the deep mistrust caused by
the Cambridge Analytica scandal, this meeting must be public. There
should not be double standards for the U.S. Congress and the
European Parliament," said Green group leaders Philippe Lamberts
and Ska Keller.
A trip by Mr. Zuckerberg next week would coincide with the
bloc's sweeping new privacy laws, which enter into force next
Friday, May 25. Facebook has said it would implement some privacy
controls inspired by the law world-wide. While smaller advertising
rivals and analysts say the law could favor the company's
advertising business because Facebook will have an easier time
getting consent, the company also faces scrutiny from regulators
and privacy activists over whether it gathers more information than
it needs.
European lawmakers have stepped up calls for Mr. Zuckerberg to
testify in Brussels about the Cambridge revelations after he spoke
before U.S. lawmakers in mid-April.
In the U.K., a British parliamentary committee requested Mr.
Zuckerberg testify about Facebook's handling of user data or face a
formal summons.
Facebook has said Mr. Zuckerberg had no plans to go to the U.K.,
and a spokesman Wednesday said he had "nothing else to add right
now." The company sent a top executive to testify before the
committee last month.
In January, Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg
also met with Mr. Macron in Paris, and with EU officials in
Brussels.
--Valentina Pop, Jenny Gross and William Horobin contributed to
this article.
Write to Natalia Drozdiak at natalia.drozdiak@wsj.com and Sam
Schechner at sam.schechner@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 16, 2018 14:52 ET (18:52 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024