UK lawmakers appeals to EU to help in Facebook probe

BY Patrick Garcia
May 22, 2018 10:32 AM

By the Associated Press

LONDON — The head of Parliament's media committee has appealed to European lawmakers to put questions to Mark Zuckerberg on his behalf when the Facebook chief gives evidence Tuesday.

FILE - In this May 16, 2012, file photo, the Facebook logo is displayed on an iPad in Philadelphia. Facebook says it is banning foreign advertisements related to Ireland's abortion referendum, amid concerns that North American groups are trying to influence the campaign. Irish voters will decide May 25, 2018 whether to repeal a constitutional ban on abortion, in a referendum that has drawn international attention. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File/Manila Bulletin) (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File/Manila Bulletin)

Committee chair Damian Collins wrote to Facebook again Monday, expressing disappointment at its "lack of transparency" in dealing with his investigation into fake news.

He shared his letter with European lawmakers so they could question him about what Facebook knew about political consultancy Cambridge Analytica's harvesting of Facebook users' data.

Collins says: "if Mark Zuckerberg chooses not to address our questions directly, we are asking colleagues at the European Parliament to help us get answers— particularly on who knew what at the company, and when, about the data breach and the non-transparent use of political adverts which continue to undermine our democracy."