LONDON – Mark Zuckerberg once again answered questions from lawmakers – this time at the European Parliament.
The Facebook CEO met the leaders of the political groups and lawmakers from its justice committee.
Zuckerberg apologized over how Facebook handled issues related to fake news, foreign interference in elections and the personal information of its users, the company told CNNMoney ahead of the hearing.
“We didn’t take a broad enough view of our responsibility and that was a mistake and I am sorry for it,” he said.
Zuckerberg repeated that Facebook was committed to “significant investments” to “make this right.”
He pledged to double the number of people working on Facebook’s security and said the investment will “significantly impact [Facebook’s] profitability.”
“Keeping people safe will always come before maximizing our profits,” he said.
Zuckerberg first met the parliament’s president Antonio Tajani. He then faced a bigger group of lawmakers, known as the conference of presidents, to answer their questions.
Cambridge Analytica, a data firm connected to President Donald Trump’s campaign, had access to information on up to 87 million Facebook users without their knowledge. As many as 2.7 million of these users were European residents, according to the European Commission.
Zuckerberg can expect tougher questioning than that he got in the Senate last month.
“Facebook, and Zuckerberg in particular, has been seen as uncooperative, even actively resistant towards European law and attitudes for a long time,” said Paul Bernal, senior lecturer in IT and media law at the University of East Anglia. “If the authorities decide to play hard ball, Facebook could have a big fight on its hands.”
