U.S. looking at ways to hold Zuckerberg accountable

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By Dylan Byers and Cyrus Farivar

Federal regulators are discussing whether and how to hold Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg personally accountable for the company’s history of mismanaging users’ private data, two sources familiar with the discussions told NBC News on Thursday.

The sources wouldn’t elaborate on what measures are specifically under consideration. The Washington Post, which first reported the development, reported that regulators were exploring increased oversight of Zuckerberg’s leadership.

While Facebook has come under scrutiny for its privacy practices for years, both of the Democratic members of the FTC have said the agency should target individual executives when appropriate.

Justin Brookman, a former policy director for technology research at the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, said Thursday night that while the FTC can name individual company leaders if they directed, controlled and knew about any wrongdoing, “they typically only use that authority in fraud-like cases, so far as I can tell.”

source: nbcnews.com