Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrapped two days of testimony Wednesday before lawmakers questioning how the social network responded to a data scandal involving Cambridge Analytica.
The hearings touched on how Facebook initially responded to information the political targeting firm had obtained millions of users' profiles without their consent, as well as what Facebook is doing to safeguard user data.
Here are six things we learned from the Zuckerberg hearings:
1. He knows federal regulation is on the horizon.
Zuckerberg said more oversight from the government on Facebook and other tech companies is "inevitable." However, he warned lawmakers about creating regulations tougher to follow for smaller companies. "I think a lot of times regulation puts in place rules that a large company like ours can easily comply with, but that small start-ups can't," said Zuckerberg.
2. We still don't know everything about how Facebook handles data
There are plenty of unanswered questions despite Zuckerberg's hours of grilling on Capitol Hill. For example, why does Facebook need to track people who don't use the service? Also, how do they delete that data? Zuckerberg said the company collects it for "security purposes."
3. Facebook doesn’t appear to know how it would stop future foreign meddling.
Also not clear: how will the social network prevent what happened during the 2016 presidential election, when Russian operatives waged a campaign including advertising and creating fake pages on Facebook to sow discord among Americans. "As long as there are people sitting in Russia whose job it is to interfere with elections around the world, this is going to be an ongoing conflict," he said.
4. He may have suggested a paid version of Facebook.
One of Zuckerberg's answers alluded to the possibility the free Facebook we all know won't be its only form. Zuckerberg went on to note a paid version of the social network had been considered, but the company plans on sticking with the ad-based model for now.
5. His data was exposed in Cambridge Analytica leak.
Did you get a notice from Facebook warning your data was impacted by the scandal? Congratulations, you share something in common with Zuckerberg.
6. Lawmakers have been confronted with Facebook's massive power.
Committee members seemed to spend as much time grappling with how Facebook worked as they did getting to the heart of the matter: what will the company do to protect its users' data? Notably, during Tuesday's hearing, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. asked Zuckerberg, "Is Twitter the same as what you do?"
Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.
