Tech

Zuckerberg's meeting with EU officials will now be livestreamed following criticism

Key Points
  • Antonio Tajani, president of the European Parliament, said on Twitter that he had personally raised the possibility of webcasting the meeting.
  • The development comes after EU parliamentarians raised concerns over the fact that the meeting was going to be conducted behind closed doors.
  • Facebook said it looked forward to the meeting and was happy for it to be live-streamed.
Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg
Matt McClain | The Washington Post | Getty Images

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has agreed for his meeting with European officials Tuesday to be livestreamed.

Antonio Tajani, president of the European Parliament, said on Twitter Monday he had personally raised the possibility of webcasting the meeting with Zuckerberg.

"I am glad to announce that (Zuckerberg) has accepted this new request. Great news for EU citizens," Tajani said.

The development comes after EU parliamentarians raised concerns over the fact that the meeting was going to be held behind closed doors.

"We're looking forward to the meeting and happy for it to be livestreamed," a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement.

Talk of regulation for tech firms like Facebook has increased since reports first surfaced earlier this year claiming Facebook allowed the data of tens of millions to be harvested by controversial data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica.

Facebook has said that 87 million users may have had their data improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica. Cambridge Analytica briefly worked for President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign, but it maintains that data was not used during the vote. The company shut down earlier this month and has since filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the United States.

Politicians in the continent and the U.S. alike have voiced concerns over the way Facebook could have been used as a platform for misinformation to sway the results of elections.

Zuckerberg faced a grilling in U.S. Congress last month but the Facebook co-founder has denied a request to testify in the U.K.

In Europe, a law that threatens to fine firms up to 4 percent of their global annual turnover if they fail to comply comes into force on Friday.

Zuckerberg's meeting with EU representatives is set to take place on Tuesday from 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., ET.