Sen. Blumenthal: “Your business model is to maximize profit over privacy.”

We’ve seen the apology tours before. You have refused to acknowledge even an ethical obligation to have reported this violation of the FTC consent decree, and we have letters, we’ve had contacts with Facebook employees…that indicates not only a lack of resources but lack of attention to privacy. And so, my reservation about your testimony today is that I don’t see how you can change your business model unless there are specific rules of the road. Your business model is to monetize user information, to maximize profit over privacy, and unless there are specific rules and requirements — enforced by an outside agency — I have no assurance that these kinds of vague commitments are going to produce action.Sen. Richard Blumenthal

As Upton Sinclair put it: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!"