Zuckerberg, Sandberg Run Afoul of Canada

Facebook execs defy subpoenas to appear at Ottawa hearing
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted May 28, 2019 11:38 AM CDT
Canada Might Hold Zuckerberg in Contempt
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before a House Energy and Commerce hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 11, 2018.   (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

Facebook executives Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg could be held in contempt of the Canadian parliament after refusing subpoenas to appear at a Tuesday hearing, reports CNN. A Facebook rep said the company planned to send its head of public policy for Facebook Canada, Kevin Chan, and director of public policy, Neil Potts, in place of Zuckerberg and Sandberg, who received formal requests to appear in front of an international committee looking at Silicon Valley's role in privacy and democracy. Not good enough, says member of parliament Bob Zimmer.

"Any change on the platform is done through Mr. Zuckerberg or through Ms. Sandberg," he says. "Nobody is going to come with some handcuffs and arrest them, but to be held in contempt by an entire country would not serve any platform well." A contempt finding is mostly symbolic as well as "a rare move in Canada," per the CBC. Lawmakers from at least 10 countries will take part in the meeting in Ottawa, hosted by the House of Commons' privacy and ethics committee. (Zuckerberg, who testified before the US Congress, also refused to speak to the UK parliament.)

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