Zuckerberg Heads to Capitol Hill to Push His Version of Web Regulation -- Update

By John D. McKinnon 

WASHINGTON -- Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg will travel to Capitol Hill on Thursday to pitch his vision for moderate internet regulation and seek to placate lawmakers who are weighing tougher moves.

"Mark will be in Washington, D.C. to meet with policy makers and talk about future internet regulation," a company spokeswoman said. "There are no public events planned."

In the wake of a series of disclosures about Facebook business practices, lawmakers have been considering stringent new regulation of internet platforms in areas such as user privacy and content moderation. No action appears imminent on any of the measures.

But one idea that has gained attention is placing new limits on the sweeping legal immunity that platforms enjoy for harms caused by their users.

Mr. Zuckerberg was expected to meet with at least one lawmaker, Sen. Josh Hawley (R., Mo.), who has advocated such an approach.

Mr. Zuckerberg was expected to pitch lawmakers on a different vision of internet regulation, one that includes more self-regulation by the companies.

The visit also will give Mr. Zuckerberg a chance to tout progress in Facebook's compliance with a recently-announced $5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over privacy missteps.

The Facebook founder is expected to meet with Sen. Mike Lee (R., Utah), who is chairman of the Senate antitrust subcommittee. Facebook is under antitrust investigation by the Federal Trade Commission, and could soon face a separate investigation by the Justice Department. Mr. Lee has raised concerns about possible duplication of effort by the federal agencies.

Mr. Zuckerberg's trip to Washington was reported earlier by Axios.

The visit represents Mr. Zuckerberg's first foray into Capitol Hill since two days of hearings in spring 2018. At the time, following damaging revelations about Facebook's privacy practices, Mr. Zuckerberg said that it was "inevitable that there will need to be some regulation." But he also cautioned lawmakers, "You have to be careful about what regulations you put in place."

Write to John D. McKinnon at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 18, 2019 20:48 ET (00:48 GMT)

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