Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut on Wednesday demanded Facebook head Mark Zuckerberg appear before Congress to address accusations by a company whistleblower who accused the company of knowingly harming children with its products.
Blumenthal accused the platform of 'amplifying and weaponizing hate speech,' and blasted the exec for spending Monday sailing a day before a powerful Commerce subcommittee aired allegations about the multi-billion company.
'He ought to spend more time looking at the platform,' Blumenthal fumed. He said he has already 'invited' the tech titan to testify, and that he could appear within weeks.
'We can't count on Mark Zuckerberg to tell us the truth,' he said, saying 'he has lost all trust if he ever had it.'
'We can't count on Mark Zuckerberg to tell us the truth,' said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who has invited the exec to testify before his subcommittee
He faulted the platform for allowing 'online bullying' with an algorithm that feeds 'anxieties and insecurities of teenagers.'
He spoke a day after Facebook whistleblower Frances Hougan testified that the company knew its produce was damaging to children.
'Facebook faces the same moment of reckoning and a moment of truth,' he told CNN's New Day.
'He is back from sailing but he has not yet discovered he has to come clean. And we will be asking him to come testify before our subcommittee. If he has disagreements with [Hougan] he should come tell it.'
Zuckerberg posted an image of himself sailing a 26-foot sailboat on his Instagram account.
Frances Haugen testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing entitled 'Protecting Kids Online: Testimony from a Facebook Whistleblower'
Blumenthal blasted Zuckerberg for sailing on Monday while the whistleblower furor raged
Here Facebook co-founder, Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before a combined Senate Judiciary and Commerce committee hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on April 10, 2018. Blumenthal wants him to appear before his committee to address a whistleblower's charges
He said he hoped Zuckerberg would appear in the 'next weeks' or 'month or so.'
