ZUCKERBERG TESTIMONY: Rep. Kathy Castor grills Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on data collection — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00Mr. Zuckerberg,
2. 0:01for all of the benefits that Facebook
3. 0:03has provided in building communities and
4. 0:06connecting families,
5. 0:07I think a devil's bargain has been
6. 0:10struck. And
7. 0:13in the end, Americans do not like to be
8. 0:15manipulated. They do not like to be
9. 0:18spied on. We don't like it when someone
10. 0:20is outside of our home watching. We
11. 0:22don't like it when someone is following
12. 0:25us around the neighborhood or even
13. 0:27worse, following our kids or stalking
14. 0:30our children. Um
15. 0:32Facebook now has evolved to a place
16. 0:35where you are tracking everyone.
17. 0:38You are collecting data on just about
18. 0:42everybody.
19. 0:43Um
20. 0:44Yes, we understand the Facebook users
21. 0:47that that proactively sign in are in
22. 0:49part of that that platform, but you're
23. 0:52following Facebook users even after they
24. 0:54log off of that platform and
25. 0:57application.
26. 0:58And you are collecting personal
27. 1:01information on people who do not even
28. 1:04have Facebook accounts. Isn't that
29. 1:06right?
30. 1:07Congresswoman, I believe that we
31. 1:10Congresswoman, I'm not sure that I don't
32. 1:12think that that's what we're tracking.
33. 1:13No, you're collecting
34. 1:15you have already acknowledged that you
35. 1:17are doing that for security purposes and
36. 1:20commercial purposes. So you are you're
37. 1:22collecting data outside of Facebook.
38. 1:24When someone goes to a website and it
39. 1:26has the Facebook
40. 1:27like or share, that data is being
41. 1:30collected by Facebook, correct?
42. 1:33Congresswoman
43. 1:34Yes or no?
44. 1:34That's right that we that we understand
45. 1:37in order to
46. 1:38show which of your friends
47. 1:40for people that don't even have
48. 1:41Facebook, I don't think that the average
49. 1:43American really understands that today.
50. 1:46Something that fundamental. And that
51. 1:48you're tracking tracking everyone's
52. 1:50online activities,
53. 1:52their searches. You can track what
54. 1:55people buy, correct?
55. 1:58Uh Congressman Congresswoman
56. 2:00You're collecting that data what people
57. 2:01purchase online.
58. 2:03I I actually
59. 2:05If they share it with us, but
60. 2:06Congresswoman
61. 2:07Because it has a share button, so it's
62. 2:08it's it's gathering Facebook has the
63. 2:10application. In fact, you patented
64. 2:12applications to do just that, isn't that
65. 2:15correct? To collect that data.
66. 2:16Congresswoman, I don't think any of
67. 2:17those buttons share transaction data.
68. 2:19But broadly, I
69. 2:20But they they track you. You want You're
70. 2:22collecting medical data, correct? On on
71. 2:25people that that are on the internet,
72. 2:27whether they're Facebook users or not,
73. 2:29right?
74. 2:31Congresswoman, yes, we collect some data
75. 2:32for some
76. 2:33collecting uh
77. 2:34you watch where we go.
78. 2:37Senator Durbin had a had a funny
79. 2:38question yesterday about where you're
80. 2:40staying and you didn't want to share
81. 2:41that, but you Facebook also gathers that
82. 2:44data about where we travel, isn't that
83. 2:46correct?
84. 2:47Congresswoman, everyone has control over
85. 2:49how that works.
86. 2:50to get to that, but yes, you are Would
87. 2:52you just acknowledge it? Yes, Facebook
88. 2:54is That's the business you're in,
89. 2:55gathering data and aggregating that
90. 2:57data.
91. 2:58Congresswoman, I disagree with that
92. 3:00characterization.
93. 3:01You are not Are you saying you do not
94. 3:03gather data on on where people travel
95. 3:06based upon their internet and the the
96. 3:09ways they sign in and things like that?
97. 3:11Congresswoman, the primary way that
98. 3:13Facebook works is that people choose to
99. 3:15share data. And they share private
100. 3:17information and they try to
101. 3:18the other way that Facebook uh gathers
102. 3:21data is you buy data from data brokers
103. 3:23outside of the platform, correct?
104. 3:26Congresswoman, we just announced 2 weeks
105. 3:27ago
106. 3:28uh that we were going to stop
107. 3:30interacting with data brokers. And even
108. 3:33though that's an industry norm to make
109. 3:34it so that the advertising can be more
110. 3:36relevant
111. 3:36think in the end, I think what
112. 3:38See, it's it's practically impossible
113. 3:40these days to remain untracked in
114. 3:43America. For all the benefits Facebook
115. 3:45has brought in and the internet. And
116. 3:47that's not part of the bargain. Uh and
117. 3:49current laws have not evolved and the
118. 3:50Congress has not adopted
119. 3:53um
120. 3:54laws to a to address digital
121. 3:56surveillance and Congress should act and
122. 3:58I do not believe that the controls, the
123. 4:00opaque agreement, uh consent agreements,
124. 4:03the settings are an inadequate
125. 4:05substitute for fundamental privacy
126. 4:07protections for consumers. Now, some
127. 4:10Gentlewoman's time.
128. 4:12Thank you. I'll yield back my time.
129. 4:13Gentlewoman's time.
130. 4:14Let that stand. And I'd like to ask
131. 4:15unanimous consent that I put my
132. 4:18constituents' questions in the record.
133. 4:20Without objection.
134. 4:21Thank you.
135. 4:21Chair now recognizes gentleman from
136. 4:23Kentucky, Mr. Guthrie, for
137. 4:25Mr. Chairman. Thanks for being here. Uh
138. 4:27when I first got into public office