- Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois asked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg some personal questions, like which hotel he was staying in, during Zuckerberg's hearing on Tuesday.
- Zuckerberg was hesitant to answer — and Durbin used that to make a broader point about data privacy.
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Awkwardness ensues as top Democratic senator asks Mark Zuckerberg if he'll reveal what hotel he stayed at last night
Mark Zuckerberg got into an awkward exchange with a Sen. Dick Durbin on Tuesday when the Illinois Democrat asked him some personal questions.
WASHINGTON — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg got into an awkward exchange with a top Democratic senator on Tuesday when the lawmaker began asking him personal questions.
During the blockbuster hearing on Capitol Hill, Sen. Dick Durbin asked Zuckerberg, "Would you be comfortable sharing with us the name of the hotel you stayed in last night?"
"Um," Zuckerberg said before a long pause. "No."
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The audience and panel of senators erupted in laughter at Zuckerberg's hesitancy to answer the question, but Durbin used it to make a point about personal privacy, which was the focus of the joint hearing between the Senate's Judiciary and Commerce committees.
"If you've messaged anybody this week, would you share with us the names of the people you've messaged?" Durbin asked.
"Senator, no, I would probably not choose to do that publicly here," Zuckerberg said.
"I think that might be what this is all about — your right to privacy, the limits of your right to privacy, and how much you'd give away in modern America," Durbin said.
Watch a clip of the exchange:
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More on Zuckerbergs blockbuster hearing:
- Business Insider's live blog of the entire hearing
- Zuckerberg hinted that Facebook could offer a paid version one day
- Zuckerberg says AI won't be able to reliably detect hate speech for 'five to 10' years
- Zuckerberg says Mueller's office has interviewed Facebook employees in the Russia investigation
- Zuckerberg claims no knowledge of Palantir's involvement with the Facebook, Cambridge Analytica scandal
- Zuckerberg just renounced a core piece of Silicon Valley wisdom — and it could come back to bite Facebook
- Zuckerberg will not be under oath during his Senate hearing, but will still have a 'legal obligation to testify truthfully'
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