Mark Zuckerberg testimony to US Congress highlights: 'It was my fault, I'm responsible and I'm sorry'

Embattled Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg has placed the blame for security lapses at the world’s largest social network squarely on himself as he girded Monday for appearances this week before angry lawmakers. In prepared remarks released by a congressional panel, Zuckerberg admitted he was too idealistic and failed to grasp how the platform – used by two billion people – could be abused and manipulated. The 33-year-old is to testify before senators on Tuesday and House lawmakers on Wednesday amid a firestorm over the hijacking of data on millions of Facebook users by the British firm Cambridge Analytica, which worked with Donald Trump’s campaign. [caption id=“attachment_2768290” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Facebook founder & CEO Mark Zuckerberg faces his hardest year/ AP[/caption] “We didn’t take a broad enough view of our responsibility, and that was a big mistake. It was my mistake, and I’m sorry,” Zuckerberg said in his written testimony released by the House commerce committee. “I started Facebook, I run it, and I’m responsible for what happens here.” In his written remarks, Zuckerberg called Facebook “an idealistic and optimistic company” and said: “We focused on all the good that connecting people can bring.” But he acknowledged that “it’s clear now that we didn’t do enough to prevent these tools from being used for harm as well. That goes for fake news, foreign interference in elections, and hate speech, as well as developers and data privacy.” But there’s plenty the Facebook CEO hasn’t yet explained. Here are five big questions that linger, beyond Zuckerberg’s prepared remarks which US Congress outed Monday. Facebook has said that it should have acted years ago to protect user privacy but that did not happen. Does this reflect failure of leadership or did Facebook’s business model or other factors create an obstacle to change? How can you ensure that Facebook doesn’t make similar errors in the future? Does Facebook own user data or do users do? If it’s the latter, why shouldn’t Facebook allow people to opt out of being targeted by ads? Sheryl Sandberg has indicated that for this business model change, Facebook may have to become for-pay. Facebook became a giant primarily because it made connecting with others and sharing information dead simple. Implicit here is that the company has the bandwidth to do the same for privacy controls. What stopped Facebook from going the distance? Did Facebook threaten legal action against the Guardian newspaper in the U.K. regarding its reporting on the Cambridge Analytica scandal? Many Facebook critics, including some former Facebook investors and colleagues, argue that the company’s service has become an addictive and corrosive force in society? What is Zuckerberg planning to do about this? Does it matter to Facebook and its CEO?