Facebook to meet with officials on Capitol Hill amidst Cambridge Analytica fallout

by Ali Breland - 03/20/18 12:27 PM ET

Facebook officials are scheduled to meet with officials on Capitol Hill this week to discuss the controversy around Cambridge Analytica’s alleged misuse of its platform.

The officials will brief Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee staff on Wednesday, according to two sources with knowledge of the meeting. {mosads}

Facebook told The Hill that it will meet with staff from the House and Senate Intelligence committees, the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Commerce Committee, as well as the House and Senate Judiciary committees, on Capitol Hill this week to discuss its dealings with Cambridge Analytica.

The firm, a political and corporate information consultant used by the Trump campaign in 2016 for voter research, was suspended from the social media site after it was revealed that it took data from 50 million Facebook accounts without the platform’s permission.

Cambridge Analytica has contested this version of events. The firm did work for President Trump’s 2016 campaign and is also alleged to have links to the Brexit campaign in the United Kingdom, which advocated for leaving the European Union.

Facebook came under fire from lawmakers after the reports.

Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) have all said that they want to see Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg testify on Capitol Hill in front of lawmakers.

They and other critical lawmakers say that Cambridge Analytica’s use of Facebook is another example of how the company is not doing enough to keep its platform safe and transparent and is evidence that further regulations on the company should be enacted.

Klobuchar and Warner have specifically pushed their Honest Ads Act legislation in response to the revelations about Cambridge Analytica’s alleged use of Facebook. Their bill would hold internet platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Google to the same political ad transparency standards as TV, radio and print mediums.

Facebook reportedly handed over information on the breach to Congress and the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the election, after it was discovered that the firm had met with Russian executives in the lead-up to the election.

— Updated 1:40 p.m.

Olivia Beavers contributed.