Brussels wants to hear from Zuckerberg, says EU justice chief

Up to 2.7M Europeans are caught up in Cambridge Analytica data scandal.

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EU Justice Commissioner Věra Jourová said Facebook should send its CEO over to Brussels to rebuild trust in Europe, after revelations that 2.7 million Europeans were caught in the Cambridge Analytica data scandal.

“If you want to renew the trust in Europe, it is only reasonable that Mark Zuckerberg comes to Brussels,” Jourová told a crowd in Brussels at a POLITICO breakfast event today. “I think it would be good if we hear it directly from him,” she said.

Jourová stressed her request for Zuckerberg, who faced a grilling in U.S. Congress this week over his company’s handling of data, to come to Brussels in a phone call with Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook, Thursday.

Facebook, among other things, is under fire for gathering data on non-Facebook users through tracking software. When asked whether she thinks such practices are compliant with EU law, Jourová said: “Not so much.”

Companies worldwide are preparing for the entry into force of the EU’s privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation. Facebook previously suggested they would introduce GDPR-like measures for users across the world to protect their data.

“GDPR gives [Europeans] strong power to remain the masters of their privacy and data,” Jourová said, adding Zuckerberg could “start to understand this if he comes here and hears it from the Europeans.”

The European Parliament previously called on Zuckerberg to testify. But the parliament has no subpoena powers, nor can it initiative legislation in Europe.