Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg visits DC to discuss tech regulation

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives to testify following a break during a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee joint hearing about Facebook on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty ImagesFacebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is returning to Capitol Hill on Thursday for the first time since testifying about the company’s privacy practices in the aftermath of the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal.A Facebook spokesperson confirmed to CNBC that Zuckerberg will be in Washington, D.C. “to meet with policymakers and talk about future internet regulation.” No public events are planned. Axios first reported the news.A spokesperson for Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) confirmed she met with Zuckerberg on Wednesday evening.Zuckerberg’s company has become a central focus of multiple antitrust investigations. Following a $5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over Facebook’s privacy policies, the agency launched a separate probe examining the company’s competition tactics. Earlier this month, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a multi-state investigation into possible antitrust violations by Facebook.The inquiries into Facebook are part of a larger examination of the tech industry by regulators, who are also looking into Google, Amazon and Apple.Zuckerberg has frequently been asked to testify in front of lawmakers across the globe. British politician Damian Collins blasted Zuckerberg for failing to appear in front of an international body of lawmakers in November to answer questions about how the company protects user data of citizens around the world. The company sent another senior executive instead.Zuckerberg now has another chance to meet with politicians, who have had time since his last visit to learn more about the company. During his testimony last year, lawmakers from both chambers of Congress were widely criticized for their apparent lack of knowledge around Facebook’s business model. But in the year since, lawmakers have had much greater exposure to technology issues through a number of hearings dedicated to privacy, content moderation and antitrust.— CNBC’s Mary Catherine Wellons contributed to this report.Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.WATCH: How US antitrust law works, and what it means for Big Tech


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