Mark Zuckerberg Will Testify Before Congress About Data Privacy

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has bowed to mounting pressure and announced he will appear, at an undisclosed date, in front of Congress to offer testimony on how his company is working to ensure data privacy.

The social media giant's announcement comes in the midst of increased scrutiny by lawmakers and federal regulators after it was alleged that a data firm employed by President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign, Cambridge Analytica, obtained data on more than 50 million Facebook users without their knowledge. It is unclear which Congressional committee Zuckerberg will appear in front of, as no fewer than three have extended invitations, CNN reported.

Last Wednesday, when news of the potential breach first broke, Sens. John Kennedy (R., La.) and Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.) were the first to call on the Facebook CEO to appear before Congress. The duo's sentiment was echoed by colleagues from across the political spectrum. The pressure for Zuckerberg to testify culminated on Monday when Senate Judiciary Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) extended a formal invitation for Zuckerberg to appear in front of his committee. The invitation, extended to the CEOs of Twitter and Google as well, requests Zuckerberg's attendance at a hearing, slated for April 10, to discuss the "future of data privacy in social media," according to Facebook sources who spoke to CNN.

More