Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Confirmed to Testify Before House Committee

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce next Wednesday to discuss “the company’s use and protection of user data.”

Zuckerberg will appear before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Wednesday, April 11 at 10 a.m., “regarding the company’s use and protection of user data,” according to an announcement from the Committee.

“This hearing will be an important opportunity to shed light on critical consumer data privacy issues and help all Americans better understand what happens to their personal information online,” declared House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ) in a statement. “We appreciate Mr. Zuckerberg’s willingness to testify before the committee, and we look forward to him answering our questions on April 11th.”

The House Energy and Commerce Committee formally requested Zuckerberg to testify last month.

“The latest revelations regarding Facebook’s use and security of user data raises many serious consumer protection concern. After committee staff received a briefing yesterday from Facebook officials, we felt that many questions were left unanswered,” proclaimed Walden and Pallone. “Mr. Zuckerberg has stated that he would be willing to testify if he is ‘the right person.’ We believe, as CEO of Facebook, he is the right witness to provide answers to the American people. We look forward to working with Facebook and Mr. Zuckerberg to determine a date and time in the near future for a hearing before this committee.”

Zuckerberg was also asked to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The Facebook CEO had previously claimed he would be “happy” to testify before Congress, however, added he would only do so if it were “the right thing to do.”

Last month, it was reported that Facebook was hiring more lobbyists in the wake of increased calls for regulation.