Don't Mess with Parliament

[davidgillon]

I'm killing myself laughing:

1) Facebook CEP Mark Zuckerberg refuses to appear before the UK Parliamentary inquiry into the Cambridge Analytica, privacy and Russian Disinformation scandals

2) Facebook refuses to hand over policy documents relating to the above.

3) Policy documents relating to the above are obtained during legal discovery by the CEO of an incredibly sleazy app (find pics of your friends in bikinis - I kid you not) who is suing FB in California after the app was put out of business by changes in FB privacy policy. Documents are legally privileged and he's ordered not to reveal them.

4) App CEO visits London, there's a knock on his hotel door.

5) It's the Parliamentary Serjeant-At-Arms: "Hand over the docs within two hours, or face arrest for Contempt of Parliament. BTW, you ain't in California anymore, Toto."

6) Facebook: "Those are our docs, please give them back, and whatever you do, don't read them."

7) Various MPs: "Too late, suckers!"

Comments

[davidgillon]

It's pretty clear the inquiry must have been keeping tabs on the movements of the app's CEO and hoping he would come into their jurisdiction.

They're currently hosting parliamentarians from a bunch of countries in the "International Grand Committee on Disinformation and 'Fake News'" and have an evidence session with a FB talking head scheduled for Tuesday. That has to be one suddenly nervous talking head.

Given Zuckerberg's repeated refusal to appear, the head of the Committee has previously threatened to have Zuckerberg arrested and brought before Parliament if he lands in the UK at any point. You can bet Zuckerberg is now taking that threat much more seriously.

[davidgillon]

Interesting developments.

The Facebook talking head, who turns out to be an ex-MP turned lobbyist, sent a letter to Damian Collins, the MP who runs the DCMS committee (and also copied it to Carole Cadwalladr, the journalist who broke the whole Cambridge Analytica story). In it he tries to imply that if DCMS uses the cache of seized documents they got from the sleazy app owner then clearly they are supporting the sleazy app against Facebook's tightening of privacy regs. The way it's phrased couldn't be more clearly intended to get the entire DCMS committee's backs up prior to interrogating him on Tuesday. It makes you wonder just how devastating those documents are for FB, because "The only thing we can try is to make Parliament look like they're supporting porn" is a tactic of desperation.

(And this barely a week on from being their US lobbyists being caught using the George Soros dogwhistle).

[vass]

Wooooow.

Thank you for the write-up. I knew nothing of this, and it is very much worth knowing.

[green_knight]

2018: I don't even.

(Brilliant write-up.)

[radiantfracture]

Yes, very pleasing and rather cinematic account. Brightens my year a tiny bit.

[green_knight]

I'm waiting for the heist movie.

[davidgillon]

{snigger}

[hamletta]

Nice one!

[redbird]

Nice!

[jesse_the_k]

My goodness gracious, this is better than fanfic!