Zuckerberg Says He Made ‘Huge Mistake’ Not Focusing on Potential Abuse Facebook chief says he was ‘too flippant’ about the threat of fake news By Georgia Wells
https://www.wsj.com/articles/zuckerberg-says-he-made-huge-mistake-not-focusing-on-potential-abuse-1522875397?cx_testId=16&cx_testVariant=cx&cx_artPos=3&cx_tag=collabctx&cx_navSource=newsReel#cxrecs_s
Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said he made a “huge mistake” in not focusing more on potential abuse, as he and the social-media giant he founded continue to battle concerns about privacy and trust.
Mr. Zuckerberg’s most direct mea culpa to date came on the same day Facebook announced that data from as many as 87 million of its users may have been improperly shared with an analytics firm tied to the 2016 campaign of President Donald Trump, a larger number than had been previously reported.
The disclosure comes as the company is stepping up its efforts to repair trust with regulators and the public in the wake of several controversies tied to the election. Mr. Zuckerberg’s remarks, made in a conference call with reporters, served as a trial run of sorts for his testimony on Capitol Hill next Wednesday, where the 33-year-old billionaire is expected to be grilled on how the company handles data related to its 1.4 billion daily users, globally.
On the conference call, Mr. Zuckerberg called Facebook “an idealistic and optimistic company“ that ”didn’t focus enough on preventing abuse.” He also said he made a “mistake” when he dismissed the threat of fake news as “crazy” shortly after the 2016 election.
“What is clear at this point is that it was too flippant,” Mr. Zuckerberg said.
When asked if the board had suggested he step down as chairman of the company, Mr. Zuckerberg replied, “Not that I am aware of.”
Mr. Zuckerberg reiterated previously announced figures that the company now employs more than 15,000 people dedicated to security, a number that will top 20,000 by the end of the year.
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