US: Congressman: Facebook can’t be trusted to self-regulate

Congressman David Cicilline said “Facebook cannot be trusted to regulate itself” in a tweet posted Wednesday, November 14, citing an NYT report on the latest turmoils at the Menlo Park, California-based company.

The Congressman, who’s expected to be the next Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel, called the expose “staggering,” referring to it as proof that Facebook executives will always prioritize profits over the wellbeing of its users.  While he didn’t share many details on his plan, Congressman Cicilline said the new House roster that’s being sworn in two months from now should work on legislation that will push back against “the corrupting influence of corporate money in our democracy.”

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said a year ago that the company would put its “community” before profit, and it has doubled its staff focused on safety and security issues since then. Spending also has increased on developing automated tools to catch propaganda and material that violates the company’s posting policies.