SHIRA OVIDE: Is Mark Zuckerberg embarrassed about what Facebook does for a living?
Zuckerberg found it hard to plainly acknowledge that Facebook tracks every move its users make
The most troubling takeaway from two days of congressional hearings on Facebook Inc. was this: Mark Zuckerberg didn't want to explain how the social network operates. The Facebook CEO ducked questions from lawmakers about what types of information the company collects and how it uses the data for advertising purposes. Zuckerberg found it hard to plainly acknowledge that Facebook tracks users from device to device, collects information on websites people visit and apps they use, gathers information on people's physical locations, collects phone call logs from Android smartphones and pulls in some online activity from people who don't even have Facebook accounts. Zuckerberg declined to acknowledge that Facebook's ad system and products are informed by all of this information gathering on and off the social network. If Facebook were a true bargain with users - they get a useful, free service in exchange for seeing advertising based on their interests and activity - then Zuckerberg sho...
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