Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Faces Aggressive Questioning: Replay

WASHINGTON, DC — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before a joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees on Wednesday, batting away often aggressive questions from lawmakers about his company's handling of its users' personal information. The hearing, titled “Facebook, Social Media Privacy, and the Use and Abuse of Data,” began around 2:15 p.m. in the Hart Senate Office Building.

You can replay the testimony here.

During his testimony, Zuckerberg said his company is working with special counsel Robert Mueller in the Russia probe. He said Facebook is also working hard to change its operations after revelations that the data mining firm Cambridge Analytica harvested users' personal data.

Zuckerberg is trying to restore public trust in Facebook and stave off federal regulation that some lawmakers have proposed. In his testimony, Zuckerberg apologized for fake news, hate speech, a lack of data privacy and Russian social media interference in the 2016 elections.

At one point Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas aggressively questioned Zuckerberg about Facebook's alleged political bias. After declining to take a break, Zuckerberg said "That was pretty good," of the back-and-forth with Cruz.

The remarks came a day after Zuckerberg, a 33-year-old billionaire, privately assured senators on Monday that his company will do better.

Zuckerberg has apologized repeatedly to users and the public, but this was the first time he has gone before Congress. A preview of his public apology was released on Monday after the company revealed Cambridge Analytica — which is affiliated with Donald Trump's presidential campaign — improperly gathered personal information from 87 million users to try to sway elections.

"We didn't take a broad enough view of our responsibility, and that was a big mistake," he says in the remarks. "It was my mistake, and I'm sorry. I started Facebook, I run it, and I'm responsible for what happens here."

Zuckerberg will also testify before a House panel on Wednesday.

On Monday, Facebook also announced it will launch an initiative to help provide "independent, credible research" about social media's role in elections and democracy. It will be done by an independent commission of academic researchers.

For that initiative, Facebook said it will not have the right to review or approve the findings before they're published.

Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida told The New York Times he met with Zuckerberg for an hour Monday and said Zuckerberg was taking the situation seriously.

“He knows regulation could be around the corner,” Nelson said.

The duo also talked about Russian meddling in the 2016 election, he said. Russian agents tried to sow discord among American voters using social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

See also: 5 Things To Know: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's Testimony

See also: How To Tell If Facebook Shared Your Data With Cambridge Analytica

Photo credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images