Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO and founder, shook the internet when he called on the government to apply more stringent rules with the social network.
“By updating the rules for the internet, we can preserve what’s best about it- the freedom for people to express themselves and for entrepreneurs to build new things-while also protecting society from broader harms,” Zuckerberg wrote.
This came as a shock to many because, for years, Silicon Valley’s big tech companies have always been at logger’s heads with lawmakers who would not stop rolling out regulations too strict for big techs to implement. Rules are there to protect consumer privacy, while the tech giants are there to maximize profits. Both terms end up contradicting one another. It’s no longer news that big techs like Facebook, Google and Twitter make their buck by collating users’ data.
Elizabeth Denham, the UK information commissioner, given Zuckerberg’s new stance on regulations, has asked him to rethink the appeal. She has requested Facebook to drop its suit against the $655,000 fine she had imposed on the company following the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
“In light of Mark Zuckerberg’s statements over the weekend about the need for increased regulation across four areas, including privacy, I expect Facebook to review their current appeal,” she said on Monday.
Following the Cambridge Analytica scandal that revealed a data breach in 2018, Facebook was fined. However, it announced an appeal against the record fine on the account that there were no shreds of evidence to back the alleged claim that users’ data had been shared with a third party. Surprisingly this year, The Facebook boss has called for the government to step in with regulations in four areas- privacy, data portability, election integrity, and harmful content.
Facebook, as well as other Silicon Valley biggest companies, share the same sentiment concerning the government regulations. They do not have to like the rules. So long as they create the framework for each company to take responsibility for any error it commits, they are ready to work with the regulators.
Having made a public announcement, UK’s regulator has now asked Facebook to show its sincerity by revoking the appeal. Facebook’s lawyer, Anna Benkert claims the charges came at a time when Facebook was struggling with a dented reputation.
