Complaints that Zuckerberg 'avoided questions' at European parliament

Facebook founder spends 30 minutes giving answers to 60 minutes of MEPs' questions

Mark Zuckerberg's meeting at the European parliament ended in acrimony amid a chorus of complaints that the Facebook founder had been allowed to evade questions and give vague answers. Over the 90-minute session, the Facebook founder told MEPs there would be no repeat of the Cambridge Analytica data scandal as he fielded accusations that his company had too much power.

The format meant Zuckerberg spent around 30 minutes giving answers to a 60-minute block of consecutive questions. The 12 MEPs asked dozens of overlapping questions that allowed the Facebook boss to pick and choose his answers. Guy Verhofstadt, the leader of the liberal group, slammed the "precooked format" as "inappropriate" and said it had permitted Zuckerberg to avoid questions.