Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is testifying to Congress

When Tom Peters started studying management in the 1970s, he was told the real “weirdos” were 30 miles south of San Francisco, at an obscure company called Hewlett-Packard.

Peters’ interviews with executives from HP, 3M and other emerging leaders formed the backbone of his seminal 1982 management book, “In Search of Excellence.” Thirty-six years later, he’s become the celebrated author of 16 more books, most recently “The Excellence Dividend.”

Mark Zuckerberg’s marathon defense of Facebook’s data practices in front of lawmakers this week paid off — sort of.

Facebook stock is currently up about 5 percent since the start of the week. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the CEO faced 10 hours of questioning from almost 100 politicians in two hearings. (You can watch it all here.) Judging from the stock price jump, he did a good job.

Mark Zuckerberg answered questions about Facebook’s data collection and privacy policies this week from almost 100 different politicians in nearly 10 hours of public testimony.

The hearings had it all. One lawmaker literally held up the U.S. Constitution at Zuckerberg and recited the First Amendment. Another asked him about his college hot-or-not service, Facemash. Others asked more nuanced questions about how Facebook moderates content on its service, while still others didn’t seem to understand how Facebook operates at all.

Back in 2010, a young Mark Zuckerberg told lawmakers that Facebook would always be free. Eight years later, a more grown-up Zuckerberg updated his stance to Congress, saying “There will always be a version of Facebook that is free.”

That statement leaves open the possibility that Facebook will someday offer a paid version — perhaps one without ads and the ensuing data scandal that has Zuckerberg testifying in front of lawmakers right now.

Update: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg just finished two days of testifying before Congress. Zuckerberg faced Senators and Representatives in marathon five-hour sessions where he was grilled on the company’s data and privacy policies. Watch both days of his testimony below.

Mark Zuckerberg will testify before Congress this week. Twice.

We’re back for Day 2 of Mark Zuckerberg-fest here in Washington, D.C. The Facebook CEO is set to testify again today about the company’s data and privacy policies, this time before the House Commerce Committee beginning at 10 am ET / 7 am PT — if you want to watch live you can do so here or in the YouTube video above.

Yesterday, Zuckerberg testified for more than five hours in a joint hearing of two Senate committees, and took questions from more than 40 senators. We were in the room and covered the hearing here.

Mark Zuckerberg has been in the hot seat this week, testifying in front of the Senate and House about how Facebook handles user data. But questions were much further afield than just issues of data privacy, as lawmakers asked the Facebook CEO about diversity in tech and what the social media company is doing to rectify underrepresentation of women and minorities, especially black and Latinx people.

Here’s how Facebook compares with other companies as far as overall leadership and tech employment for women, blacks and Latinx people.

Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress on Tuesday in a marathon five-hour hearing, and he walked away with a victory.

Wearing a navy blue suit and a royal blue tie instead of his usual T-shirt and jeans, the Facebook CEO spent much of the day answering questions about how Facebook’s services work. Does Facebook delete user data from its server once an account is deleted? (Yes.) Can Facebook use your WhatsApp messages to target you with ads? (No.)

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is testifying before Congress this week about how the platform was abused during the 2016 presidential election. But he’s not in Washington, D.C., alone.

Who are the Facebook executives and employees Zuckerberg brought as backup as he faces two days of intense grilling from Congress?