EU Digital Chief Holds 'Constructive' Talks With Facebook Over Data Policies

By Natalia Drozdiak

BRUSSELS--The European Union's digital chief had a "constructive and practical discussion" with Facebook Inc.'s (FB) Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg about how to rebuild users' trust following the recent uproar over the network's data policies, the EU said in a statement Wednesday.

Andrus Ansip, the European Commission's Vice-President in charge of digital affairs, is visiting the U.S. this week, where he has already met with several tech executives, including Mr. Zuckerberg and Ms. Sandberg.

Both Mr. Ansip and Facebook agreed the EU's coming privacy regulation would provide the "right way forward" to protect users' privacy, the EU said in a statement following the meeting.

"They explained what steps Facebook is taking to protect its users' privacy and what proactive steps they have applied to react to disinformation campaigns," an EU spokeswoman said.

Ms. Sandberg last week spoke by phone to the European Commission's Justice Chief, Vera Jourova, to discuss recent revelations that the social network allowed personal information of as many as 87 million users to be obtained by data-analytics firm Cambridge Analytica.

In the meeting with Mr. Ansip, Facebook also acknowledged the need to set common ethical principles to enhance trust and accountability in artificial intelligence-based services, the EU said.

Facebook didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Separately, European lawmakers on Wednesday stepped up calls for Mr. Zuckerberg to testify about the Cambridge revelations at the European Parliament after he spoke before U.S. lawmakers last week.

Write to Natalia Drozdiak at Natalia.Drozdiak@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 18, 2018 10:23 ET (14:23 GMT)

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2024 to Jun 2024