Mark Zuckerberg鈥檚 two days before the US Congress was an extended bout of political theatre 鈥� and ultimately a futile one. Zuckerberg, who heads an online empire of 2 billion users, made a show of polite deference to the politicians he appeared before, but managed to avoid any serious scrutiny.
At one point in the hours-long hearings, a senator asked Zuckerberg how Facebook would ever make any money if it didn鈥檛 charge users. 鈥淪enator, we run ads,鈥� replied the billionaire. Elsewhere, Zuckerberg 鈥� whose user base overwhelmingly lies outside the US 鈥� was invited to sing the praises of American exceptionalism, and wisely demurred, or was asked absolutely basic questions about the business model of the internet.
Regardless, it was possible to glean some hints from the hearings as to what Facebook will do next in the wake of its data and privacy crisis. One of the most revelatory aspects came not from any of the questions, but rather from an enterprising photographer who got a quick shot of Zuckerberg鈥檚 briefing notes.
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These pointed to Facebook鈥檚 stance on European Union rules 鈥� the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR 鈥� that come into effect late next month. Zuckerberg鈥檚 notes sternly reminded him not to suggest that Facebook already complies with the rules鈥� requirements for greater user control over data, and how it is reused and traded 鈥� indicating that, in private, the CEO may wrongly feel his firm already abides by them.
Zuckerberg鈥檚 responses to questioning on GDPR led to several strong hints that Facebook will roll out the more granular privacy controls the rules require to all its users across the world, not just those in the EU.
Customised consent
Frustratingly, this wasn鈥檛 definitively pinned down, but it implies that users may gain more control over how their data is used: yes, personalise how Facebook gives me content, but don鈥檛 target me with ads. However, Facebook鈥檚 apparent willingness to cede this voluntarily implies the firm expects its impact will be relatively small.
Elsewhere, Zuckerberg鈥檚 responses indicate that the company hopes to scale up its automated content moderation, especially when it comes to tackling misinformation and hate speech.
The Facebook CEO was left largely unchallenged on the time frame of achieving this. Despite Facebook already being able to automatically find and delete any pictures of nipples, Zuckerberg claimed it could take another five years before AI could usefully tackle hate speech. This suggests the day-to-day environment on Facebook won鈥檛 change too drastically in days and months to come.
Finally, Zuckerberg was notably keen to appear willing to be regulated 鈥� a contrast to the brash anti-regulation attitude that normally prevails in Silicon Valley. Of course, appearing in favour of new rules, provided they aren鈥檛 too onerous in practice, may be a gambit. Many other ad-supported tech firms would quietly support such a lobbying effort.
However, it may also highlight Facebook鈥檚 shift from scrappy start-up to established giant. If the firm can help tighten the rules now, it may raise barriers that make it harder for other companies to challenge it.
Given the gulf in understanding between Zuckerberg and the politicians who would make the new rules, the smart money is on Facebook coming out ahead. The market seemed to think so: Facebook鈥檚 share price closed more than 5 per cent higher than when its CEO first sat down to speak. That will certainly get Zuckerberg a few likes from his board.
