Download the all-new Republic app:

Published 23:17 IST, September 19th 2019

Mark Zuckerberg met with the US Senators in Washington DC for a dinner

Mark Zuckerberg met with nearly six United Stated senators. Zuckerberg went on a dinner with senators in order to improve the company's reputation in Washington

Reported by: Aanchal Nigam
Follow: Google News Icon
  • share
null | Image: self
Advertisement

The Chief Executive of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg met with nearly six United Stated senators on September 18. Zuckerberg went on a dinner with senators in order to improve the company's reputation in Washington DC. Recently, the social media company was confronted by various state attorneys general as well as numerous legislative proposals that have certain restrictions on how the company shall operate. The social media giant has been facing antitrust investigations for nearly a year now. 

The dinner

Reportedly, Warner spokeswoman Rachel Cohen said that it was Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat and also the vice-chair of the Intelligence Committee, who provided his help to organize the dinner for the Facebook CEO with other senators at his request. However, the restaurant has not been named. Evidently, the role and responsibility of social media platform in protecting the democracy, and the steps that Congress should take to defend the elections, protect the consumer data, along with encouraging competition in the social media space were the main topic of discussions between the senators and Zuckerberg. 

Advertisement

Read - Zuckerberg Sets Talks In Washington On 'future Regulation'

Zuckerberg's Washington trip

This is the first time, Zuckerberg traveled to Washington since April 2018. After he was subjected to questions over the span of two days for 10 hours by nearly 100 U.S. lawmakers mainly on privacy issues, election security, and potential regulation. Zuckerberg is also prepared to be on Capitol Hill on September 19 and will hold additional meetings. He will meet Mike Lee, the Utah Senator, and a Republican. The Facebook CEO will be in Washington to have a talk with policymakers about the future of internet regulation. However, according to a statement made by Facebook, Zuckerberg has not planned any public events. Wednesday. Reportedly, Zuckerberg might also have a meeting scheduled with the administration of Trump. A White House spokeswoman has not made any statement and declined to comment.

Advertisement

Read - Mark Zuckerberg's Harvard Roommate And Facebook Co-founder Chris Hughes Desperately Wants Facebook Broken Up: Report

The settlement made by Facebook

Facebook had agreed for a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over privacy practices in July with a record-setting $5 billion. The company is currently facing antitrust investigations by the FTC and a group of state attorneys general. In 2018, the social media giant shared the information of 87 million users with a British political consultancy, Cambridge Analytica. This violated the 2012 consent decree and fueled the FTC privacy probe. Cambridge Analytica's main clients included the people involved in the election campaign by Donald Trump.

Advertisement

Read - Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Confident About Launching Libra Cryptocurrency Amid Concerns And Criticism From Experts

Read - Facebook Boss Mark Zuckerberg Now Blaming US Government For Spreading Of Fake News On Facebook

Advertisement

(With agency inputs)

14:30 IST, September 19th 2019