Facebook Data Scandal: EU Parliament Member: Mark Zuckerberg's Testimony 'A Farce'

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s highly anticipated testimony in front of European Union Parliament came and went Tuesday. Initially a private session, Zuckerberg agreed to let the event be livestreamed at the last minute, but transparency concerns lingered due to a question-and-answer format that ultimately left parliament members unsatisfied.

Zuckerberg gave an opening statement before parliament members provided lists of questions on various topics. He was then given time to answer whatever questions he felt like answering after they had all been asked, with no opportunity for follow-up questions from the 12 Parliament members.

Parliament member Udo Bullman of Germany called the meeting’s format a “farce” in a statement.

"What this meeting made clear is that 75 minutes in a small and exclusive circle is not enough to shed light on the biggest data scandal in recent history,” Bullman said, according to CNBC.

The session amounted to roughly an hour of questions about Facebook’s use of personal data and 10 minutes of seemingly vague answers.

"I asked you six yes and no questions," said Philippe Lamberts of Belgium. "I got not a single answer."

Parliament member Guy Verhofstadt of Belgium missed part of the meeting but said the format allowed Zuckerberg to dodge questions. He also accused Zuckerberg of creating a "digital monster that is destroying our democracies."

E.U. Parliament President Antonio Tajani, who requested the format, tweeted a photo with Zuckerberg on Tuesday, adding that the people “cannot accept illicit use of personal data to manipulate elections.”

Zuckerberg said he would respond to some unanswered questions in writing after the fact, a similar deflection he used when he was unable to respond to questions in front of U.S. Congress in April.

Parliament members sought answers from Zuckerberg on several topics, such as what the site does to protect user data, whether or not it will actually comply with Europe’s new privacy regulations and if Facebook should be broken up as a monopoly.

Zuckerberg has tried to get out in front of public outcry following the March revelation that 87 million people unknowingly had their data farmed by right-wing election consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. Almost 3 million of those users were European, prompting the E.U. Parliament inquiry.

Cambridge Analytica closed operations on May 1.