Zuckerberg was called to testify in front of Congress f

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has admitted that the social media platform had probably engaged in political bias when answering questions from Ted Cruz at a Senate Committee Hearing yesterday.

Zuckerberg was called to testify in front of Congress following the recent scandal with Cambridge Analytica, who sold used users personal data for political means.

Ted Cruz blasted the Facebook founder for left-wing political bias on the platform, saying:

“There are a great many Americans who I will say are deeply concerned that Facebook and other tech companies are engaged in a pervasive pattern of bias and political censorship.”

“There have been numerous incidents with Facebook.”

The Express reports: “In May 2016 it was reported that Facebook and purposely and routinely suppressed conservative news stories from trending news.”

Visibly squirming, the Facebook billionaire was then forced to say he understood concerns about political bias at his company and even admitted a large left-wing bias in Silicon Valley.

He replied: “First I understand where that concern is coming from because Facebook and the tech industry is located in silicon valley which is an extremely left-leaning place.

“This is actually a concern that I have and that I try to route out in the company by making sure we don’t have any bias in the work that we do.

Facebook founder, Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, center, rings the opening bell of the Nasdaq stock market, Friday, May 18, 201
“I think it is a fair concern for people to wonder about.”

When scrutinized on his answer Mr Zuckerberg added despite his concerns over political bias, he fails to take decisive action to ensure his company employs an equal balance of political view points.

Mr Cruz asked: “In your testimony you say you have 15 to 20 thousand people working on security and content review.

“Do you know the political orientation of those 15 to 20 thousand people engaged in content review?”

In a blunt reply the CEO said: “We do not generally ask people about their political orientation when they are joining the company.”

Facebook came under fire following the revelation Cambridge Analytica, a UK-based political firm hired by Trump for the 2016 campaign, had improperly accessed information on 50 million users.

The news wiped-off billions from Facebook’s market value as investors fear the dealings with Cambridge Analytica could permanently damage the social network’s reputation, deter advertisers and invite tougher regulation.