Exclusive — Rep. Buddy Carter on Facebook’s Privacy Scandal: ‘Unless You Get It Right, Look for Us to Make You Get It Right’

Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview that the message for next week’s congressional hearing with Facebook’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, is “going to be clear: unless you get it right, look for us to make you get it right.”

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee next Wednesday to discuss “the company’s use and protection of user data.”

Facebook’s reputation plummeted after reports revealed that data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica used the social media platform to gain access to the personal data of more than 87 million users. A recent Reuters poll suggests that only 41 percent of consumers trust Facebook to comply with American privacy laws.

Congressman Carter, a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, told Breitbart News he hopes to get a sense from Zuckerberg how seriously he will handle the company’s privacy scandal. Carter also argued that we must hold social media companies, such as Facebook, accountable.

“I want to know what happened. How did it happen? What [have you] done to make sure it does not happen again? What kind of safeguards have you put in place? How are you going to notify people from now on? I think those are some obvious questions. I think what I am looking for from Mr. Zuckerberg is a sense of how serious he is taking this and how serious Facebook is taking this. We have had so many hearings and breaches in cybersecurity in our country, and people are very concerned about this, and they are looking to Congress for solutions regarding their private information,” Carter told Breitbart News.

The Georgia Republican added, “Whereas the less government is a better government, at the same time, we have to hold these companies accountable. They have to be careful with customers’ private information; private information is extremely important. I want a commitment from the CEO of the company to make sure that they are truly committed to this and truly going to do something about this.”

Peter Schweizer, president of the Government Accountability Institute and best-selling author of Clinton Cash and Secret Empires, argued at Breitbart News’s “Masters of the Universe” town hall on Thursday that Google and Facebook have “more power than any company in human history.”

Congressman Carter concluded, “I think the message for next week is going to be clear: unless you get it right, look for us to make you get it right.”