Facebook CEO admits user data mistakes

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg broke his silence Wednesday about allowing an outside group to obtain user data from millions of Facebook accounts and admitted he made mistakes along the way. The social media company has been under fire all week since reports showed the data firm Cambridge Analytica, which worked with the Trump campaign in 2016, improperly obtained user data from about 50 million Facebook accounts to use for targeted political ads. After five days of silence since the first stories broke, Zuckerberg posted a lengthy statement explaining the timeline of events and claiming the company has already taken steps to protect its users. “But we also made mistakes, there’s more to do, and we need to step up and do it,” he added. In an interview with CNN Wednesday night, Zuckerberg said he’s been too trusting with developers in the past and he’s open to government regulations given the stakes of possibly influencing elections. Zuckerberg also said he would be willing to testify before Congress. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., welcomed that response. “The steps Facebook has laid out to protect its users are a start, but Zuckerberg still needs to come testify,” she tweeted Wednesday. “To truly regain the public’s trust, Facebook must make significant changes so this doesn’t happen again.”