TOBY SHAPSHAK: Mark wins the battle, loses face
Zuckerberg was being disingenuous when he said people control the privacy of what they post
What was the most damaging part of Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony to US congress last week? Was it the admission that Facebook tracked its users’ browsing on the Web, even when they were logged out? Was it that Facebook even tracks people who aren’t users? Was it his refusal to name the hotel he stayed in and who he messaged while expecting his 2.2bn users to be okay with such invasions of privacy? Perhaps, as Internet memes have suggested, it was the booster cushion on his seat to make him appear taller? On the first day he testified, Zuckerberg appeared nervous and pale but, as he did on both days, he stuck to his talking points. Only when pushed would he make concessions. When asked last Wednesday whether Facebook tracks people who aren’t members of its network, Zuckerberg admitted: "We collect data on people who are not signed up for Facebook for security purposes." He couldn’t explain why this was necessary, nor how people who hadn’t agreed to Facebook’s terms and conditions could...
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