Martech: Martech is Marketing Logo
  • Topics
    • Customer & Digital Experience
    • Digital Transformation
    • Data
    • Marketing Management
    • Marketing Operations
    • Performance Marketing
    • Special Reports
    • All Topics
  • Conference
  • Webinars
  • Intelligence Reports
  • White Papers
  • What is MarTech

Processing...Please wait.

MarTech » Data » Senate Judiciary Committee asks CEOs of Facebook, Google, Twitter to testify on privacy

Senate Judiciary Committee asks CEOs of Facebook, Google, Twitter to testify on privacy

Despite the outrage, it's unlikely that Congress will actually do anything.

Greg Sterling on March 26, 2018 at 5:04 pm | Reading time: 2 minutes

And now the hearings. Earlier today, the Senate Judiciary Committee announced that it’s seeking testimony from Facebook, Google and Twitter executives on data privacy issues, triggered by the Cambridge Analytica data-mining controversy, which, as far as we know, has nothing to do with Google or Twitter.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said this past weekend that he would testify as part of a larger effort to address fallout from the scandal. However, the committee will seek to pull in Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey as well. The hearing is scheduled for April 10.

The hearing will be an opportunity for senators to lecture and express appropriate concern about privacy practices at the big tech companies. According to the committee’s request, the hearings would “broadly cover privacy standards for the collection, retention and dissemination of consumer data for commercial use.” It will probably also seek to explore what constructive measures might be taken to avoid similar data appropriation incidents (or leaks) in the future.

It’s clearly appropriate for the government to investigate what happened with Cambridge Analytica. However, the hearings will likely fall into the category of political theater rather than yield concrete results or benefits for consumers.

Republicans have already indicated a lack of interest in consumer privacy, and Democrats don’t have the power to get anything done before the 2018 midterms. It is possible, I suppose, that a “coalition of the incensed” could cross party lines to propose new bipartisan privacy legislation.

However, the budget bill that just passed is widely regarded as the last piece of Congressional legislation that will pass this year.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.


New on MarTech

    Google favors helpful content over search engine-first in new update
    PGA TOUR transforms fan experience, analytics and customer feedback
    Work in Progress Limits: Getting started with the Agile Marketing Navigator
    Amazon decision to use Nielsen is big boost for beleaguered rating service
    TransUnion partners with Canvas Worldwide to boost omnichannel CX

About The Author

Greg Sterling
Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land, a member of the programming team for SMX events and the VP, Market Insights at Uberall.

Related Topics

DataMarketing OperationsPerformance Marketing

Get the daily newsletter digital marketers rely on.

Processing...Please wait.

See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS The MarTech Conference logo.

September 28-29, 2022: Fall

Start Training Now: Master Classes

Start Discovering Now: Spring



The SMX Conference logo.

Start Training Now:: SMX Advanced

November 14-15, 2022: SMX Next

March 8-9, 2022: Master Classes

Webinars

Tracking Growth From Organic Search

Beyond the Buzzword: Transform Digitally to Drive Organic & SEO Growth

Leap or Linger: Determining Which Ad Platforms to Test for Your B2B Brand

See More Webinars
Intelligence Reports

Enterprise Marketing Performance Management Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Customer Journey Orchestration Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Account-Based Marketing Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

See More Intelligence Reports
Featured White Paper

The CMO’s Formula To 3x Your Digital Marketing Campaign Results

See More Whitepapers
Search Our Site

Receive daily marketing news & analysis.

Processing...Please wait.

Topics

  • Transformation
  • Operations
  • Data
  • Experience
  • Performance
  • Management
  • All Topics
  • Home

Our Events

  • MarTech
  • Search Marketing Expo - SMX

About

  • What is MarTech
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • RSS

© 2022 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.