Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has apologised to European Parliament lawmakers for its role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal and for allowing fake news to proliferate on its platform.
Cambridge Analytica, which denies any wrongdoing, is accused of acquiring data from 87 million Facebook profiles for use in political campaigns.
In opening remarks, shared ahead of the hearing, Mr Zuckerberg apologised for Facebook’s tools being used “for harm”.
“That was a mistake,” he added.
Mr Zuckerberg has been criticised for not taking enough care over how third-parties such as the political consultancy Cambridge Analytica accessed the information of Facebook users. The social network also faces criticism for failure to tackle fake news.
Several MEPs asked the Facebook chief if he felt that the firm was a monopoly. He was also questioned about whether the company could be trusted to implement necessary changes.
