Reversal: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s EU Parliament Meeting to Be Livestreamed

A meeting previously planned to be closed-door between Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and members of the EU Parliament will now be livestreamed, according to EU officials.

Mark Zuckerberg is set to meet with the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, tomorrow in what was previously supposed to be a closed-door meeting. Tajani has now announced that upon his request, Mark Zuckerberg has agreed to broadcast the meeting via a livestream. The meeting is expected to include leaders of EU Parliament political groups and some MEPs.

Tajani announced that the meeting would be broadcast via livestream in a tweet:

I have personally discussed with Facebook CEO Mr Zuckerberg the possibilty of webstreaming meeting with him. I am glad to announce that he has accepted this new request. Great news for EU citizens. I thank him for the respect shown towards EP. Meeting tomorrow from 18:15 to 19:30

— Antonio Tajani (@EP_President) May 21, 2018

Facebook commented on the meeting to Politico saying “We’re looking forward to the meeting and happy for it to be livestreamed.” The meeting between the Facebook CEO and EU officials will be broadcast via the European Parliament website from 6:15 p. m. to 7:30 p.m. CET.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg previously testified before U.S. Congress about how the social media firm handles user data following the Cambridge Analytica data scandal which may have seen the personal details of 87 million Facebook users allegedly accessed without their express permission. Since then, a number of countries have called on Zuckerberg to testify in a similar manner.

British MPs have previously threatened to issue a formal summons to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify about the Cambridge Analytica situation, much as he did before Congress in the United States. Damian Collins, chair of the UK Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, wrote in a letter to Facebook:

We would like the session here to take place by 24 May… It is worth noting that, while Mr Zuckerberg does not normally come under the jurisdiction of the UK parliament, he will do so the next time he enters the country. We hope that he will respond positively to our request, but if not the committee will resolve to issue a formal summons for him to appear when he is next in the UK.

The Verge reports that Facebook has said that Zuckerberg ”has no plans to meet with the committee or travel to the UK at the present time.”

Zuckerberg’s meeting with EU officials can be watched via the European Parliament website tomorrow from 6:15 p. m. to 7:30 p.m. CET which is 12:15 p.m. EDT.