Senate Commerce Leaders Demand Answers from Facebook Amid New Reports of Privacy Concerns

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) and Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL) pressed Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for answers following a report in the New York Times that Facebook offered numerous mobile device manufacturers special access to private user information. Citing ongoing efforts by the committee to oversee Facebook data privacy and security practices, the letter seeks details from Zuckerberg about his congressional testimony related to user control of personal information, efforts by Facebook to ensure business partner compliance with privacy policies, data storage and retention practices, disclosures to the Federal Trade Commission, and the identities of mobile device manufacturers who partnered with Facebook to receive special access.

Two other Senate Commerce members, Sens Ed Markey (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), sent a separate letter on June 4. The pair sought more information from Facebook over its data-sharing partnerships, which they called “deeply concerning" following a New York Times report over the weekend detailing the practices.