View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. News
March 8, 2019

Culture Secretary urged Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg to face questions from MPs

By PA Media Lawyer

Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright has revealed he urged Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg to face questions from MPs in the UK about the social network during a recent meeting.

Wright flew out to San Francisco with digital minister Margot James last month to discuss practices with tech leaders ahead of a white paper addressing online harms due to be released by the Government within weeks.

The Facebook chief executive has been called to stand before MPs on multiple occasions to answer a range of questions in relation to recent data breaches, allegations of business malpractice, repeated electoral interference and the rampant spread of disinformation and hate speech on the platform.

“I said to him that I thought it would be a good idea for him to go to the select committee and make his case,” the Culture Secretary said at the Deloitte Enders Media and Telecoms event yesterday.

“He has a case to make but he also has questions to answer. I think it would be right for him to go and answer them.”

The Facebook boss has been widely criticised by politicians for failing to personally attend meetings in the past.

Zuckerberg showed “contempt towards both the UK Parliament and the International Grand Committee”, a final report on disinformation and fake news said last month, while Labour deputy leader Tom Watson has previously described him as a “coward”.

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

Wright said the nature of the white paper was not to put social networks out of business, but to make them responsible for their platforms.

“The message that I was taking to all of these companies was that we are not interested in putting them out of business, but we do require you to be responsible businesses and in the end the white paper that you are going to see shortly will set out, I hope with some clarity, what the responsibilities we believe these companies should have are, how these responsibilities should be met, and what should happen if those responsibilities are not met,” he said.

“I’m happy to discuss that with the companies who will be at the receiving end of that process but in the end it must be for Government to decide what it believes is necessary to keep the citizens of this country as safe as they can be from harmful content online.”

Picture: Jeremy Wright/DCMS

Topics in this article : ,

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network