When Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared in front of Congress on Tuesday in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, thousands took to Twitter to point out that he had left his notebook unattended and wide open. One user even wrote:
“I hope Mr Zuckerberg does a better job of protecting our data than he does his own. This is a picture of his left-opened notebook during a break at his Congressional hearing. It’s wide open.”
Facebook vs Apple
Reporters did not hesitate at the chance to snap some photos and since the images have been circling the web, eagle-eyed readers spotted something Zuckerberg did not mention during the congress but had up his sleeve. His prepared notes showed that he was prepared to drag Apple’s data practices into the discussion, but reasons unknown, decided against doing so.
The image of Zuckerberg’s printed notes showed a section titled “Tim Cook on biz model”, perhaps prepared in case Cook’s comments were mentioned. Cook had been critical of Facebook’s data collection and it appears Zuckerberg was ready to fire back. The notes supposedly read:
“Lots of stories about apps misusing Apple data, never seen Apple notify people.”
Facebook on GDPR
Also supposedly included in the notes was a prepared response for Zuckerberg in relation to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation rules, which will go into effect next month. The notes stated that Zuckerberg should not claim the company is covered.
“Don’t say we already do what GDPR requires,”
A response to the China threat, comments about the ad market and an emergency go-to statement, were also included in his notes.
