Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has rejected a call to testify before a joint parliamentary committee made up of MPs from both British and Canadian federal governments, according to the Associated Press.
British MP Damian Collins and Canadian MP Bob Zimmer — head of Canada’s Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics — used an October 31st, 2018 letter to summon Zuckerberg to answer questions related to the spread of fake news and disinformation allegedly propagated by Facebook and other social media platforms
“Given your self-declared objective to ‘fix’ Facebook, and to prevent the platform’s malign use in world affairs and democratic process, we would like to give you the chance to appear at this hearing,” reads an excerpt from October 31st, 2018 letter signed by Collins and Zimmer.
“We both plan to issue final reports on this issue by the end of this December, 2018. The hearing of your evidence is now overdue, and urgent.”
Together with @bobzimmermp, I have today written to Mark Zuckerberg inviting him to give evidence to an international committee to be held in London on 27th November pic.twitter.com/jHhQ5S3SNt
— Damian Collins (@DamianCollins) October 31, 2018
According to the Associated Press, Facebook rejected the request for Zuckerberg to testify by stating that it would be impossible for the Facebook co-founder to appear before all parliaments.
Since Collins penned his request, the governments of Australia, Argentina and Ireland have joined the U.K and Canada in calling for Zuckerberg to testify before an international committee.
“Five parliaments are now calling on you to do the right thing by the 170 million users in the countries they represent,” Collins said, reports the Associated Press.
Source: Associated Press
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