Dear Commons Community,

If we could get passed all of the media coverage yesterday of the F.B.I. raid on Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s office and homes, there was drama at the U.S. Senate hearing with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.  During hours of questioning before the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees over Cambridge Analytica and security concerns on the social network, several senators alluded to Facebook’s complex user agreement.  They argued that the text is written so that the average user likely does not understand how their data is being used by the company. No one put it as bluntly as Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.).

“Your user agreement sucks,” Kennedy said to Zuckerberg. “The purpose of that user agreement is to cover Facebook’s rear end. It’s not to inform your users about their rights. Now, you know that and I know that.”

The senator then urged the Facebook CEO to “go back home and rewrite it.”

He added, “Tell your $1,200-an-hour lawyers ― no disrespect, they’re good ― but tell them you want them written in English, in non-Swahili, so the average American can understand.” 

Putting aside his disparaging remark about Swahili, Kennedy got his point across and it was the toughest blow of the day to Zuckerberg.

Tony