Facebook's Zuckerberg apologizes for Cambridge Analytica fallout

(RNN) - Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has apologized for a "breach of trust" that occurred with the misuse of user data by Cambridge Analytica.

“This was a major breach of trust, and I’m really sorry this happened," Zuckerberg told CNN's Laurie Segall, in an interview recorded earlier in the day at Facebook's California headquarters.

Zuckerberg made a lengthy post earlier acknowledging the scandal, in which he did not apologize to users.

The 33-year-old was asked if he would testify before Congress, or Parliament in the U.K., and he said he would be happy to "if it's the right thing to do."

Some lawmakers, among them Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, have said they want the CEO to testify about Cambridge Analytica's manipulation of Facebook's platform.
 

On March 16, Facebook suspended Cambridge Analytica, a data-mining firm that worked for the Trump campaign in 2016. The company used data that was inappropriately obtained from roughly 50 million Facebook users to try to influence elections, according to The New York Times and The Guardian.

Zuckeberg's note outlined a number of steps he said the company would take to deal with developers, such as Cambridge Analytica, breaching Facebook's terms of service in the future.

"I'm serious about doing what it takes to protect our community," he wrote. "While this specific issue involving Cambridge Analytica should no longer happen with new apps today, that doesn't change what happened in the past. We will learn from this experience to secure our platform further and make our community safer for everyone going forward."

Facebook claims Cambridge improperly obtained information from 270,000 people who downloaded an app described as a personality test. 

Cambridge's board of directors suspended CEO Alexander Nix pending an investigation after Nix boasted of various unsavory services to an undercover Channel 4 News reporter, according to the Associated Press.

Channel 4 News showed clips Tuesday that show Nix admitting his data-mining firm played a role in Trump's victory in the 2016 presidential election.

Trump's campaign has distanced itself from the firm and claimed it did not use Cambridge's data.

Cambridge has also denied wrongdoing.

The U.K. parliamentary media committee has summoned Zuckerberg to testify, according to AP.

On Tuesday, a Maryland woman filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Facebook and Cambridge Analytica for gathering her personal data without her permission. Lauren Price, the plaintiff, is seeking unspecified damages.

Facebook suffered its worst day on the stock market since 2014 on Monday. Its shares plunged 7 percent.

Copyright 2018 Raycom News Network. All rights reserved.