Marsha Blackburn repeatedly cut off Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg during a Wednesday congressional hearing and implored him to commit to supporting the Browser Act, a piece of internet privacy legislation she sponsors.
The Tennessee congresswoman first compared the current social media landscape to “The Truman Show.”
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“I’d like for you to comment,” she flatly stated. “Where does privacy rank as a corporate value for Facebook?”
“Congresswoman, giving people control of their information and how they want to set their privacy is foundational to the whole service,” Zuckerberg responded. “It’s not just an add-on feature, something we have to comply with. Reality is if you have a photo, if you just think about this in your day-to-day life –”
“I can’t let you filibuster right now,” Blackburn said, cutting off the tech billionaire. “There are no privacy documents that apply to you all and we’ve heard people say that, you know — and you’ve said you’re considering maybe you need more regulation. What we think is we need for you to look at new legislation, and you’re hearing there will be more bills brought out in the next few weeks, but we have had a bill, the Browser Act, and I’m certain that you’re familiar with this. It’s bipartisan.”
“Will you commit to working with us to pass privacy legislation, to pass the Browser Act?
“Congresswoman, I’m not directly familiar with the details of what you just said,” Zuckerberg answered before getting smacked down a second time.
“OK, let’s get familiar with the details,” Blackburn snarked. “As you have heard we need some rules and regulations. This is only 13 pages. The Browser Act is 13 pages, so you can easily become familiar with it, and we would appreciate your help.”