U.K. Shames Mark Zuckerberg for Skipping Facebook Hearing with Pic of Empty Chair

Mark Zuckerberg Chair at UK Facebook Hearing
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee/Twitter
Tom Ciccotta

Lawmakers from nine countries condemned Mark Zuckerberg for his absence at a recent committee hearing on Facebook, posting a picture of his empty chair to social media.

The Twitter account for the Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee of Parliament tweeted a photo of Mark Zuckerberg’s empty chair on Tuesday to shame him for his absence at their recent hearing, which was held to address how disinformation is spread on the internet. The Committee commented, “9 Countries. 24 official representatives. 447 million people represented. One question: where is Mark Zuckerberg?”

In Zuckerberg’s place, Facebook sent Richard Allan, their vice president of policy solutions. The hearing includes representatives from Canada, France, Latvia, Belgium, Singapore, Brazil, Argentina, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.

“I would say at the outset how deeply disappointed we are about Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to ignore this summons from so many different nations,” Canadian lawmaker Charlie Angus said in a comment. “This is an unprecedented situation we’re dealing with.”

At the hearing, lawmakers from the countries present signed a declaration on the “Principles of the Law Governing the Law Governing the Internet.” The declaration has specific policies about the spread of disinformation and fake news on the internet.

This isn’t the first time that Zuckerberg has refused to appear before British lawmakers. In April, Zuckerberg sent another executive to answer questions after British lawmakers asked him to answer questions about user privacy violations at Facebook.

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