‘Facebook Cannot Be Trusted to Regulate Itself’
"Real accountability is not forthcoming.
Even in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, there was no
shake-up in the upper echelons of the company — the most high-profile
departure was that of Alex Stamos,
the chief security officer who — according to The Times — independently
chose to investigate Russian operations on the platform, and clashed
with top brass as a result. As for Mr. Zuckerberg, he is unlikely to be
ousted as CEO — he is both the majority shareholder and the chairman of the board. As a result, meaningful corporate oversight does not exist at the company.
Meaningful oversight of the tech industry from the executive branch is equally absent.
That’s
why the incoming House, newly in Democratic hands, should make serious
oversight a priority. If the House is looking to set the agenda for the
next two years, Facebook should be near the top. What ambiguities remain
about what Facebook knew and when are prime subjects for hearings."
