Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg expected to address Cambridge Analytica data use within next 24 hours

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be making a statement within the next 24 hours, after several days of silence since the company’s data scandal began, Axios first reported.

A source tells Axios that the CEO knows it’s a big deal but has been more focused on fixing the problem than on commenting on it. As Axios points out, the silence from Facebook leadership has “… left a vacuum that provoked merciless coverage, increased lawmakers’ suspicions, and even left some employees demoralized.”

Since Facebook’s announcement five days ago that it was suspending Cambridge Analytica for violating Facebook terms around user data, there has not been a statement from Zuckerberg or any other top-level Facebook executive. The issue has now become a full-scale crisis, dominating national headlines.

During a panel hosted by The Washington Post on March 20, US Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) commented on the recent developments around Facebook’s handling of user data, calling on Zuckerberg to come to Capitol Hill.

“I think Mr. Zuckerberg should make himself available to discuss where technology is going in the future and discuss the challenges that we face in this realm and add to the debate, not be silent on it,” said Sen. Cantwell.

Earlier this week, The New York Times reported Facebook chief security officer Alex Stamos would be leaving the company in August. The report says Stamos had long been advocating for more transparency around Russian interference on Facebook during the elections but had faced resistance.