Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Monday turned down a request from British lawmakers to testify on how his social media platform collects and stores users’ data.
In a Monday letter to the lawmakers, obtained by CNN, Facebook said it would make two senior executives available to answer questions in the U.K. in early April, but would not be sending Zuckerberg.
“Mr. Zuckerberg has personally asked one of his deputies to make themselves available to give evidence in person,” U.K. Facebook executive Rebecca Stimson wrote in a letter to Damian Collins, the chair of the U.K. Parliament’s media committee.
Collins had specifically asked for Zuckerberg to appear before Parliament to answer questions regarding Facebook’s data breach involving Cambridge Analytica researchers.
Facebook said either Chief Technology Officer Mike Schropfer or Chief Product Officer Chris Cox would be appearing before the Parliament committee after Easter.
Zuckerberg has come under fire for his less-than-satisfying response after research firm Cambridge Analytica was able to access 50 million Facebook users’ personal data.
The Facebook creator said in an interview with CNN last week that he’s “really sorry that this happened,” but was noncommittal on whether he would testify before Congress or not.
“I’m happy to if it’s the right thing to do,” Zuckerberg said when asked if he would appear before Congress.
“What we try to do is send the person at Facebook who will have the most knowledge about what Congress is trying to learn,” Zuckerberg continued. “And if that’s me, then I’m happy to go.”
He added that there are people at the company whose whole job is focused on this area that may be better suited to testify before Congress regarding the data breach.
