Mark Zuckerberg hassurvived hours of questioningfrom members of Congress. And if there’s one takeaway from the whole thing, it’s that US lawmakers seem to know very little about how the internet works.
The hearings were to be a crucial moment for Facebook, a social network that is facing intense scrutiny due to theCambridge Analytica scandal. Facebook’s CEO had to travel to Washington, DC this week and face Congress, as well as its billions of users across the world via a live stream. It was described as something that could make or break the company, but in reality, Zuckerberg fielded softball questions.
Much of the first hearing on 10 April was taken up with Zuckerberg explaining the internet to older (and apparently out-of-touch) senators and representatives who asked oblivious questions, resulting in ridiculous, almost cringeworthy moments. See for yourself, below.
We’ve also included information at the bottom about why Zuckerberg is in DC and how to watch the hearings yourself.
Ridiculous moments from the hearings
“We run ads.”
Hatch: “How do you sustain a business model in which users don’t pay for your service?“Zuckerberg: “Senator, we run ads” smilesHatch: “I see. That’s great.“https://t.co/1PQ3joAtC8
— Daniella Diaz (@DaniellaMicaela)June 08, 2025
“FaceMash was a prank.”
.@USRepLong: “What was FaceMash and is it still up and running?“Mark Zuckerberg: “No Congressman, FaceMash was a prank website that I launched in college, in my dorm room, before I started Facebook.“pic.twitter.com/W1KK99ljrF
— Dan Linden (@DanLinden)June 03, 2025
“Is that Diamond and Silk?”
Billy Long: “Do you recognize these folks?“Mark Zuckerberg: “I do.“Long: “Who are they?“Zuckerberg: “I believe — is that Diamond & Silk?“pic.twitter.com/TVxALG4Rgd
— Josh Billinson (@jbillinson)June 26, 2025
“Um. Uh… No.”
This takeaway from the Mark Zuckerberg hearing gets to the heart of the issue: how do we use Facebook and the internet without seeing an invasion of our personal privacy?pic.twitter.com/pEfzyAqnez
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders)July 19, 2025
“You’re supposed to answer ‘Yes’.”
Senator Sullivan: From dorm room to global behemoth! Only in#Americaright?#Zuckerberg: Well…There are some good#Chineseinternetcompanies.Sullivan: “You’re supposed to answer yes to this question."@AlibabaGroup@Baidu_Inc#tencentpic.twitter.com/aErMxvamiF
— Yicai Global 第一财经 (@yicaichina)August 03, 2025
“I’m not sure what that means.”
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg says his own data was sold to “malicious third parties”, in combative exchanges at US Congress hearingWatch live:https://t.co/BqDB8ZjbNopic.twitter.com/vc5Y8aATBL
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld)June 11, 2025
“Congresswoman…”
‘You’re collecting medical data on people that are on the internet whether they’re Facebook users or not, right?’‘Yes, we collect some data for security purposes.’@USRepKCastorquestions Mark Zuckerbergpic.twitter.com/40M1rd2Dc7
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News)June 23, 2025
“People use cookies on the internet.”
Mark Zuckerberg side-stepped a question about Facebook tracking users even after they log offpic.twitter.com/FeRjSm0lgE
— NowThis (@nowthisnews)July 24, 2025
