'Shame on Mark Zuckerberg': Facebook enraged lawmakers again after evading questions about its year from hell
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was roasted once more by lawmakers after declining to answer their questions at an international committee hearing in Canada.
Representatives from numerous countries â including Canada, the UK, Singapore, Ireland, Germany, Chile, Estonia, Mexico, Ecuador, Morocco, St Lucia, and Costa Rica â were present at the Grand Committee on 'Big Data, Privacy, and Democracy' on Tuesday.
The committee set out to question Facebook and other tech firms on their handling of personal user information and the spread of disinformation online. It follows the giant Cambridge Analytica data breach last year and election meddling on social media platforms.
Facebook sent the head of policy for Canada Kevin Chan and global policy head Neil Potts to the hearing in Ottawa in place of Zuckerberg and Sandberg, which was also attended by representatives from Google and Twitter. Chair of the committee Bob Zimmer said the pair's absence was "abhorrent."
"It was very clearly communicated to them that they were to appear today before us. A summons was issued which is already an unusual act of the committee to do, and I think it's only fitting that there's an ongoing summons, so as soon as they set foot â either Mr Zuckerberg or Ms Sandberg â into our county, they'll be served and expected to appear before our committee," said Zimmer.
"If Mr Zuckerberg or Ms Sandberg decides to come here for a tech conference or to go fishing the parliament will be able to serve that summons and have them brought here," added Canadian MP, Charlie Angus.
Zuckerberg already drew the ire of the committee in November when he didn't show up to a hearing in the UK. Lawmakers from the committee have repeatedly chastised Zuckerberg for sending lower-level executives to answer questions in his place. Potts and Chan were not spared the committee's outrage, with Zimmer telling them "we're told you're not even in the top 100" executives at Facebook, according to CBS.
"Shame on Mark Zuckerberg and shame on Sheryl Sandberg for not showing up today," said Zimmer.
Facebook did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
"We are grateful to the Committee for the opportunity to answer their questions today and remain committed to working with world leaders, governments, and industry experts to address these complex issues. As we emphasized, we share the Committee's desire to keep people safe and to hold companies like ours accountable," a Facebook spokesman told Business Insider.
