Mark Zuckerberg spent 5 hours testifying before Congress; heres everything we learned

Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress on Tuesday afternoon, speaking with a joint session of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation. - photo by Herb Scribner

569bf6b3b8e6b90c5350501966c8a6b8be458bf579d80fda27e8b2a0dbaeeb98.PNG — Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress on Tuesday afternoon, speaking with a joint session of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation. - photo by Herb Scribner

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress on Tuesday afternoon, speaking with a joint session of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.

The appearance follows Facebooks recent controversy in which 87 million people saw their data gathered by the data firm Cambridge Analytica. The company took data from users (and their friends) who took a specific quiz on Facebook. The firm has been associated with President Donald Trumps election campaign.

On Tuesday, senators asked numerous questions about how Facebook works, what Zuckerberg might have known ahead of the Cambridge Analytica scandal and what the company plans to do next. The hearing lasted five hours.

We've collected, via Twitter, Zuckerberg's responses to some of the important questions that were raised during the hearing with additional analysis from tech media members. (Note: The questions themselves are paraphrased.)

What is the point of Facebook?

Zuckerberg says the first 10 years of Facebook was concerned with building tools that could empower people. But now: "It's not enough to just build tools. We need to make sure they're used for good."
Brian Fung (@b_fung) April 10, 2018

Will Facebook be free?

Zuckerberg: "There will always be a version of Facebook that is free."
Herb Scribner (@HerbScribner) April 10, 2018

How does Facebook make money?

Mark Zuckerberg: There will always be a version of Facebook that is free.

Senator Orrin Hatch: How?

Mark Zuckerberg: Senator, we run ads.
Matt Viser (@mviser) April 10, 2018

How does Facebook identify hate speech?

Mark Zuckerberg says in 5-10 years theyll have AI tools that are sophisticated enough to catch hate speech before its posted

The number of ways in which fake information will be able to spread via tech in 5-10 years is going to be SO different than it is today
Kasie Hunt (@kasie) April 10, 2018

Should Facebook adopt regulations as seen in Europe?

Zuckerberg on whether European regulations should be applied in the U.S.: "I believe everyone in the world deserves privacy protections ... I think it's certainly worth discussing"
Hunter Schwarz (@hunterschwarz) April 10, 2018

Does Facebook believe it has a monopoly on social media?

.@LindseyGrahamSC actually doing a good job of laying anti-trust groundwork on Zuckerberg with questions about meaningful competition for Facebook. For all of Zuckerberg's claims of competitors, FB does have a monopoly no one comes close to matching its social graph.
Pete Pachal (@petepachal) April 10, 2018

Does Facebook believe its users read the terms of service?

the CEO of Facebook admitting that the average user does not read the entire TOS.

It's obvious to literally everyone in the world this is the case. But lawyers will point to the TOS at the end of the day, every day, in a company's defense.
_ (@MikeIsaac) April 10, 2018

Did special counsel Robert Mueller talk to Facebook about the ongoing Russian investigation?

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says "there may be" subpoenas from special counsel Robert Mueller's office, but that he has not been interviewed by the special counsel's team.

"I know we're are working with them." https://t.co/FZKnU3iHdJ pic.twitter.com/TbGbaMQcnJ
Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) April 10, 2018

Should people have the right to privacy?

.@SenatorDurbin asks Zuckerberg if he wants to reveal what hotel he stayed at last night and which friends he's messaged today. Zuckerberg declines. Durbin asks if Facebook users should have the same right to privacy.
Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) April 10, 2018

Does Facebook delete your information?

Zuckerberg: If you delete your account, we get rid of all your information
Alex Kantrowitz (@Kantrowitz) April 10, 2018

What was Facebooks biggest mistake?

Mark Zuckerberg: "I think the big mistake that we made looking back on this is viewing our responsibility as just building tools, rather than viewing our whole responsibility as making sure that the tools are used for good." https://t.co/CbFO899XlU pic.twitter.com/1WcLNyi78l
CBS News (@CBSNews) April 10, 2018

Is this data collection a surprise for users?

Mark Zuckerberg: Well, Senator, I would hope what we do with data is not surprising to people. #Zuckerberg pic.twitter.com/hMhv4Mra4b
Lance Ulanoff (@LanceUlanoff) April 10, 2018

Zuckerberg to Sen. Mike Lee: "Senator, I hope that what we do with data is not surprising to people. pic.twitter.com/bvt7QL9Iqy
Jim Roberts (@nycjim) April 10, 2018

Can Facebook share your content with other companies?

Senator asks about content ownership.
Mark Zuckerberg: You own it in that you choose to put it there....you do grant is the license to show it to others. Thats how the service works. #Zuckerberg
Lance Ulanoff (@LanceUlanoff) April 10, 2018

Is Facebook safe?

Senator: Is Facebook safe?

Mark Zuckerberg: Senator, I think Facebook is safe. #Zuckerberg pic.twitter.com/BpNMrGGMeY
Lance Ulanoff (@LanceUlanoff) April 10, 2018

Does Facebook limit how much obscene and mature content can be seen?

Zuck tried really hard not to say whether he could support Sen. Markey's Consent Act, a bill that would require companies to obtain explicit consent from consumers before using their data for advertising. Zuckerberg really wanted to stick to "that's a good principle!"
Brian Fung (@b_fung) April 10, 2018

How will Facebook tackle harmful and mature content?

Zuckerberg vowing again that AI is the solution to addressing problematic and harmful content on Facebook.
Brian Fung (@b_fung) April 10, 2018

Zuckerberg has now repeatedly said that Facebook will increasingly move toward AI automatically taking down and even *blocking* posts. Because that's what our policymakers want: in one breath they complain of Facebook's unchecked power and in another demand they use it even more.
Kevin Bankston (@KevinBankston) April 10, 2018

Will Facebook ever be in China?

Zuckerberg (who earlier was fear-mongering about Chinese tech companies) is hesitant to answer Senator Sullivan's "softball" question about whether it would've been possible to start FB in China (remember, Zuck really really really wants to get into China)
Karissa Bell (@karissabe) April 10, 2018

Will Facebook allow political speech from all political corners?

Sen. Thune asks Zuckerberg if he will err on the side of protecting speech, including from all corners. "I want the widest possible expression," Zuck says, saying political ideology isn't a determinative factor.
Phil Elliott (@Philip_Elliott) April 10, 2018

Are you allowed to have fake Facebook profiles?