Sympathy for Mark Zuckerberg

Each exchange on Tuesday was more painful than the one before it. Hearing Zuckerberg attempt to explain his company to a roomful of smug geriatrics was like watching an awkward teenager teaching a basic computer skills class to rude senior citizens at the local community center. How many times did this poor man have to say that he did not, in fact, endorse terrorism? (I counted nine.) Even after reading the transcript I am still not sure what Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) was getting at.

Is it true, my good man, asked Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), that this Facebook of yours can keep track of the websites users visit even when they do not have it open? “I am aware that cookies are used on the internet,” Zuckerberg replied meekly. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) calmly accused him of spreading “propaganda,” which is old-man Senate hyperbole for lame political ads and for deliberately cultivating the “breeding ground for hate speech against Rohingya refugees” in Southeast Asia. When Zuckerberg replied that policing the speech of hundreds of thousands of people half a world away writing in obscure languages was a somewhat complex matter, his auditor pointed out that he and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) had recently sent a letter to Apple asking about that corporation’s approach to Chinese censorship laws. Good to know, senator.