Zuckerberg Heads to Capitol Hill to Push His Version of Web Regulation -- Update
September 18 2019 - 09:03PM
Dow Jones News
By John D. McKinnon
WASHINGTON -- Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg will travel to
Capitol Hill on Thursday to pitch his vision for moderate internet
regulation and seek to placate lawmakers who are weighing tougher
moves.
"Mark will be in Washington, D.C. to meet with policy makers and
talk about future internet regulation," a company spokeswoman said.
"There are no public events planned."
In the wake of a series of disclosures about Facebook business
practices, lawmakers have been considering stringent new regulation
of internet platforms in areas such as user privacy and content
moderation. No action appears imminent on any of the measures.
But one idea that has gained attention is placing new limits on
the sweeping legal immunity that platforms enjoy for harms caused
by their users.
Mr. Zuckerberg was expected to meet with at least one lawmaker,
Sen. Josh Hawley (R., Mo.), who has advocated such an approach.
Mr. Zuckerberg was expected to pitch lawmakers on a different
vision of internet regulation, one that includes more
self-regulation by the companies.
The visit also will give Mr. Zuckerberg a chance to tout
progress in Facebook's compliance with a recently-announced $5
billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over privacy
missteps.
The Facebook founder is expected to meet with Sen. Mike Lee (R.,
Utah), who is chairman of the Senate antitrust subcommittee.
Facebook is under antitrust investigation by the Federal Trade
Commission, and could soon face a separate investigation by the
Justice Department. Mr. Lee has raised concerns about possible
duplication of effort by the federal agencies.
Mr. Zuckerberg's trip to Washington was reported earlier by
Axios.
The visit represents Mr. Zuckerberg's first foray into Capitol
Hill since two days of hearings in spring 2018. At the time,
following damaging revelations about Facebook's privacy practices,
Mr. Zuckerberg said that it was "inevitable that there will need to
be some regulation." But he also cautioned lawmakers, "You have to
be careful about what regulations you put in place."
Write to John D. McKinnon at john.mckinnon@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 18, 2019 20:48 ET (00:48 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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