Mark Zuckerberg Will Not Testify in UK Parliament Despite Arrest Threats
Last updated September 17, 2021
Facebook's founder Mark Zuckerberg has agreed to a private meeting behind the closed doors with a handful of European parliament's, carefully chosen members. Not only the meeting will be held private, but also the topics of the conversation are vaguely presented.
The purpose of the meeting is "to clarify issues related to the use of personal data", as mentioned in the President Antonio Tajani's press release yesterday. The private meeting will set place in Brussels on May 22 at 17.45CET.
Journalists are being blocked from attending the meeting so they won't be able to ask any questions until the press conference which will take place afterward. Members of the public also won't be able to form their opinions about Zuckerberg's answers to the members of the parliament.
Not all members of the parliament are satisfied with this arrangement. The decision to hold a private meeting was brought only by a small majority. The other half of the Parliament wanted the Facebook's founder to publically answer the questions in front of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.
Věra Jourová, the European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, said on her Twitter profile that she is glad to see Mark Zuckerberg accept this invitation but that it is pity it will not be a public hearing since many Europeans deserve to know exactly how their data is being handled.
Earlier this week, UK lawmakers also requested from Zuckerberg to take questions in the public hearing in Brittain. The Facebook's founder denied their request for a third time, even after being threatened with prosecution.