Zuckerberg’s Toughest Moment Was When A Senator Asked Where He Slept Last Night
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before the Senate on April 10, 2018 in Washington, DC. Image by JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images
By Aiden Pink April 10, 2018
One of the most notable exchanges in Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s congressional testimony was when a senator asked him about his sleeping arrangements to make a point about user privacy.
“Mr. Zuckerberg, would you be comfortable sharing with us the name of the hotel you stayed in last night?” asked Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois.
“Um, no,” Zuckerberg said after a long pause. The room broke into laughter.
“If you messaged anybody this week, would you share with us the names of the people you’ve messaged?” Durbin asked.
“Senator, no, I would probably not choose to do that publicly here,” Zuckerberg said.
“I think that might be what this is all about,” Durbin responded. “Your right to privacy, the limits of your right to privacy, and how much you’d give away in modern America in the name of ‘connecting people around the world.’ The question basically of what information Facebook’s collecting, who they’re sending it to, and whether they’ve ever asked me in advance my permission to do that.”
Watch the exchange here: Contact Aiden Pink at pink@forward.com or on Twitter, @aidenpink
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