Zuckerberg Expected to Appear Before House Committee

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee on April 12, according to a congressional official familiar with the plans.

Zuckerberg has been the subject of criticism from lawmakers from both major U.S. political parties, as well as members of the U.K. Parliament, amid signs that Facebook has failed to protect user privacy.

Newspaper reports this month said an advertising-data firm obtained information on more than 50 million Facebook users without their consent, and then lied about deleting it.

The revelations have prompted some people to delete their Facebook accounts and heightened concern that the social network will lose advertisers and be subject to tighter regulation. It’s also fueled a 16 percent decline in the stock.

The leaders of the panel, which oversees internet issues, sent an invitation to Zuckerberg dated March 23, saying it wanted to hold a hearing to "examine the harvesting and sale of personal information from more than 50 million Facebook users, potentially without their notice or consent and in violation of Facebook policy."

(REUTERS)