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Facebook chief to discuss regulation of social media

Mark Zuckerberg is in Dublin on Tuesday for meetings with politicians.
Mark Zuckerberg is in Dublin on Tuesday for meetings with politicians. Mark Zuckerberg is in Dublin on Tuesday for meetings with politicians.

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is to discuss regulation of social media with senior politicians in Dublin.

He is expected to visit the technology giant’s offices in the Republic on Tuesday.

Facebook’s European headquarters is in the Irish capital.

Mr Zuckerberg is to meet Hildegarde Naughton, James Lawless and Eamon Ryan, three members of the International Grand Committee on Disinformation and Fake News.

Their spokesman said: “During their discussions the deputies will raise a number of concerns, including: the regulation of social media, transparency in political advertising and the safety of young people and vulnerable adults.”

The Committee is made up of international parliamentarians and investigates issues like data privacy, safety, security and sharing.

The trio, who are also members of the Oireachtas Committee on Communications, have been vocal in demanding the regulation of social media platforms in recent years.

Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon has a number of inquiries ongoing into Facebook and associated organisations.

In a blog post published on Saturday, Mr Zuckerberg called for increased government oversight of the internet in areas like harmful content, election integrity, privacy and data portability.