Lawmakers have put pressure on Mark Zuckerberg to appear before Parliament for questioning. Facebook has been mired in a scandal after reports emerged that Cambridge Analytica harvested user data for political campaigns.
However, the lawmakers warned that if he fails to attend a session slated for May 24, the Facebook founder could face a summons.
"It is worth noting that, while Mr. Zuckerberg does not normally come under the jurisdiction of the UK Parliament, he will do so the next time he enters the country," said the letter issued by the UK Parliament's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee.
"We hope that he will respond positively to our request, but if not the Committee will resolve to issue a formal summons for him to appear when he is next in the UK."
Mark Zuckerberg has appeared before Congress to discuss the fallout of Cambridge Analytica's misuse of user dataImage: picture -alliance/Xinhua News Agency/T. Shen
Zuckerberg has since appeared in US Congress for a hearing, but analysts argue that the Facebook founder managed to escape tough questions that could have implicated the company.
In the letter, British lawmakers made clear that Zuckerberg's company did not satisfactorily answer questions about how user data was compromised and to what extent, saying Facebook CTO Mike Schroepfer "failed to answer fully on nearly 40 separate points."
Who's who in the Cambridge Analytica scandal?
Following revelations that Facebook user data was swiped to help influence the US election, five men are under the spotlight. As those linked to the scandal continue to trade blame, DW looks at what role each one played.
Image: picture alliance/AP/dpa/E. Vucci
The faces behind the scandal
Facebook has been slammed for failing to protect the data of more than 50 million users. Their data was used to further conservative political projects, including Brexit and Donald Trump's presidential victory. From a former White House strategist to a Canadian whistle blower, here are the people involved in what some are describing as Facebook's largest data breach.
Image: picture-alliance/empics/D. Lipinski
Whistleblower who hacked Facebook
A 28-year-old Canadian data analytics expert first blew the whistle on the scandal to Britain’s Observer newspaper. Christopher Wylie claims he set up the project for Cambridge Analytica and helped forge ties with Donald Trump’s campaign. He revealed that millions of profiles were hijacked to influence the election. Cambridge Analytica says Wylie has been "misrepresenting himself and the company."
Image: Reuters/H. Nicholls
Cambridge Analytica boss
Cambridge Analytica CEO, Alexander Nix, was one of several senior executives filmed by an undercover reporter from Britain's Channel 4. Nix claimed credit for Donald Trump's 2016 electoral victory. He also said his political consultancy could feed untraceable messages on social media. Executives bragged that the firm could use misinformation, bribery and even prostitutes to help win elections.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Charisius
Psychology academic behind Facebook app
A Moldovan-born Cambridge University researcher developed a personality app that harvested the personal data of 30 million Facebook users. Aleksandr Kogan said he passed the information to Cambridge Analytica, under assurances that what he was doing was legal. But now he says the research firm and Facebook are scapegoating him over the scandal.
Image: University of Cambridge
Facebook chief was 'deceived' over data use
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was criticized for waiting for four days to respond to the scandal. His social media network claims to be the victim of the whole saga, insisting it was unaware of how the data was being used. Still, Zuckerberg has been summoned by the British and European parliaments, while US consumer regulators have launched an investigation into the firm's use of personal data.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh
Trump strategist with Cambridge links
Trump's former strategist Steve Bannon helped develop the populist, anti-Washington message that helped the billionaire win the White House. A founding member of right-wing outlet Breitbart News, Bannon is a former board member of Cambridge Analytica and brought in wealthy businessman Robert Mercer as a financial backer. He left the White House last August and Trump has since cut him off.
Image: picture alliance/AP/dpa/E. Vucci
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'Mistakes'
British lawmakers are worried that personal data of up to 40 million British citizens may have been compromised by Cambridge Analytica or other companies involved in data harvesting.
In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica revelations, Zuckerberg said his company had "made mistakes," vowing to redress the issue and improve data protection policy.
It announced that it would produce a tool for users to delete third-party apps, further restrict developer access to user data and ban developers that misused personal data.
Artworks that have been banned by Facebook
Facebook has blocked various pictures of paintings and sculptures on display in museums and public spaces — only to apologize briefly afterwards.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Rumpenhorst
Liberty Leading the People
Eugene Delacroix's painting commemorating the July Revolution of 1830 was the latest victim of Facebook's arbitrary censorship regulations. The work shows a woman known in France as Marianne, the personification of Liberty, leading an insurrection with naked breasts. That led Facebook to delete a post showing the painting. Later on, the company apologized for censoring the French national icon.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
The Origin of the World
The depiction of female genitalia on this painting by Gustave Courbet from 1866 was long controversial. It was not exhibited publicly until 1988. In 2011, a French teacher's Facebook account was closed down after he had posted a picture of the painting. He sued the company, but a court determined in March 2018 that Faceboook didn't need to pay damages to the plaintiff.
Venus of Willendorf
The Paleolithic sculpture "Venus of Willendorf" was censored by Facebook as well. After labeling it as "dangerously pornographic," the company apologized for its mistake later on. The 11-centimeter-high sculpture depicts a rather fat naked woman. The figurine, created some 30,000 years ago, is seen as the most important item of Vienna's Museum of Natural History.
Image: picture-alliance/H.Fohringer
Neptune
Facebook's prudery doesn't only target depictions of females. In 2017, an Italian author tried to promote her website on stories set in Bologna with pictures of the Neptune statue located on Piazza del Nettuno. Facebook blocked the post showing the Renaissance statue, deeming the image "explicitly sexual."
Image: picture-alliance/chromorange/A. Forkel
The Little Mermaid
Unveiled in 1913, the bronze statue depicting a mermaid has become an icon of Copenhagen's waterside promenade. After Denmark's former minister for agriculture tried to draw attention to a blog with a picture of the sculpture, her post was deleted by Facebook. Apparently the statue had "too much bare skin or sexual undertones." The social media giant later apologized and approved the image.
