Facebook's sins haunt Mark Zuckerberg at Libra congressional hearing

Mark Zuckerberg arrived on Capitol Hill Wednesday ready to discuss Facebook’s proposed digital currency, Libra. Congress took the opportunity to grill him on everything else.

“As I have examined Facebook’s various problems, I have come to the conclusion that it would be beneficial for all if Facebook concentrates on addressing as many existing deficiencies and failures before proceeding any further on the Libra project,” said House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Rep. Maxine Waters in kicking off the hearing on Wednesday.

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Rep. Waters proceeded to run down a list of Facebook’s many unresolved issues, such as foreign interference in U.S. elections through disinformation campaigns on the platform from countries like Russia and Iran and the company’s fact-checking processes.

On diversity and inclusion, Rep. Waters blasted Zuckerberg on the race and gender disparities within the company, saying they have “utterly failed.”

The hits didn’t end there. The Facebook founder and CEO was bombarded with questions and criticisms ranging from Facebook’s recently updated political advertising policies to its privacy practices.

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In one of the more bizarre moments of the hearing, Republican Congressman Bill Posey used his time to stand up for the free speech rights of antivaxxers on Facebook's platform. Earlier this year the company took a stance on anti-vaccination content, allowing it on its platforms, but making it harder to find by stifling its reach.

Rep. Frank Lucas brought up future misinformation issues posed by deepfakes spreading on Facebook. Congressman David Scott addressed the company's discriminatory ad campaign toolsthat allowed landlords to block out potential renters based on race.

Rep. Joyce Beatty grilled Zuckerberg on the company's civil rights initiatives. Congresswoman Katie Porter challenged the Facebook CEO to work as one of the company's content moderators, a low-paying job with an emotional toll involving sifting through some of the worst uploads on the site.

Zuckerberg declined.

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Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib took the opportunity to press Mark Zuckerberg on extremism on the platform. Rep. Tlaib, one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress, pulled up a photo of a man with a rifle posing in front of a mosque as an example of threats on Facebook.

Rep. Ann Wagner of Missouri started by bringing up all the partner companies, such as Visaand PayPal, who recently pulled out of the Libra Association. The congresswoman quickly pivoted from the digital currency to criticism of Zuckerberg for Facebook’s end-to-end encryption for Messenger and WhatsApp, saying it makes it difficult to shut down sex trafficking and child exploitationonline.

While Congress held hearings on Libra over the summer, this was the first one on the digital currency with Facebook’s CEO in the hot seat. So, when Libra shifted into focus, Zuckerberg wasn’t let off easy.

Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez questioned why people should trust Facebook to handle their personal financial data in light of its previous data privacy failures, such as with Cambridge Analytica.

This hearing marked Zuckerberg’s second time appearing before Congress. Previously, the Facebook CEO provided testimony regarding the Cambridge Analyticadata scandal that rocked the social network in 2018.

Perhaps the most powerful moment of the hearing came from Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks, who questioned Zuckerberg’s claims that the Libra project will primarily serve the unbanked and underbanked. Meeks tore into the Facebook CEO asking why the company doesn’t support existing infrastructure by putting its billions into Minority Depository Institutions.

“Actions speak louder than words,” said Rep. Meeks.

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Rep. Brad Sherman followed by succinctly summing up how some of the Committee members felt about Facebook’s Libra project: "For the richest man in the world to come here and hide behind the poorest people in the world and say that's who you're really trying to help.... You're trying to help those for whom the dollar is not a good currency: drug dealers, terrorists, tax evaders."

Zuckerberg said that Facebook would be "forced to leave" the Libra Association if it decided to go ahead without approval by U.S. regulators. The Facebook CEO was open to delaying the project for this reason.

But, Zuckerberg did have a warning to go along with it: China is moving to launch ideas similar to Libra in the coming months.

"The rest of the world isn't waiting," he said.