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Radio Atlantic

News Update: Who Could Tame Facebook?

Radio Atlantic

The Atlantic

Politics, News, Society & Culture

4.41.9K Ratings

🗓️ 13 April 2018

⏱️ 44 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

As Atlantic staff writer Robinson Meyer recently wrote, Facebook “is currently embroiled in the worst crisis of trust in its 14-year history.” This week, the company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before the U.S. Congress for the first time. It’s not clear whether Congress will seek to exert more regulatory control over the company, even after revelations that as many as 87 million people unwittingly had their Facebook data given to the political firm Cambridge Analytica, which may have used some of that data to influence the 2016 U.S. election. And the questions senators asked of Zuckerberg suggest they may not yet understand Facebook well enough to regulate it effectively, even if they wanted to. In this Radio Atlantic news update, Rob shares what he learned from his exclusive interview with Zuckerberg, and from the CEO’s testimony before Congress. We discuss with Atlantic senior editor Gillian White whether Facebook can be regulated, and whether it will. Links - “Mark Zuckerberg Says He’s Not Resigning” (Robinson Meyer, April 9, 2018) - “The 3 Questions Mark Zuckerberg Hasn’t Answered” (Robinson Meyer, April 10, 2018) - “How Facebook’s Ad Tool Fails to Protect Civil Rights” (Gillian B. White, October 28, 2016) - “Facebook Lets Advertisers Exclude Users by Race” (Julia Angwin and Terry Parris Jr., ProPublica, October 28, 2016) - Sarah Jeong on Twitter - “The Most Important Exchange of the Zuckerberg Hearing” (Alexis C. Madrigal, April 11, 2018) - “Mark Zuckerberg Is Halfway to Scot-Free” (Alexis C. Madrigal, April 11, 2018) - “My Facebook Was Breached by Cambridge Analytica. Was Yours?” (Robinson Meyer, April 10, 2018) - “Can Anyone Unseat Mark Zuckerberg?” (Robinson Meyer, March 22, 2018) - “The Cambridge Analytica Scandal, in 3 Paragraphs” (Robinson Meyer, March 20, 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

At the crossroads of artistic insight and intellectual curiosity, we find the edge of reason.

0:07.0

Dive into the heart of artistic inspiration, rooted in Enlightenment thinking, and discover how contemporary creators are holding a mirror up to society to reflect who we are, where we've been, and where we're headed.

0:20.0

Join me, Jeff Chang, at the Edge of Reason, a new limited podcast from Atlantic Rethink, the branded

0:26.8

content studio at the Atlantic, Executive Editor of The Atlantic.

0:43.9

I am in the studio today with Jillian White,

0:47.3

senior editor at the Atlantic.

0:48.5

Hello Jillian.

0:49.2

Hi Matt.

0:50.2

And Robinson Meyer, staff writer at the Atlantic.

0:53.6

Hi Rob.

0:54.2

Hey, Matt.

0:55.8

Our regular weekly discussion with my esteemed co-host, Jeff and Alex

0:58.9

will be in your feeds very soon, so get excited.

1:01.4

This is an extra special bonus episode with Jillian and

1:05.2

Rob to talk about the big news that's lighting up Capitol Hill here in DC this

1:09.8

week. So Rob, you first, what exactly is happening on the hill this week.

1:16.0

So what happened this week is that for the first time in the 14 year history of him running Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg went to Capitol Hill, went to

1:27.3

Congress to testify before both the House and the Senate.

1:31.2

So on Tuesday he testified before a joint session of the Senate Judiciary and Commerce

1:36.0

Committees and on Wednesday he testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

1:43.0

And I'd say on the whole, if you want the headline,

1:46.1

on the whole, he did fine.

...

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