In a hearing with plenty of criticism aimed at Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg, Kentucky Republican Andy Barr lodged a defense of the company’s attempt at innovation in financial services.
He said: Criticism is cheap. Anybody can criticize. As you can see here today, politicians in Washington are pretty good at lodging criticism. But creating something of value is significantly more difficult, and I would commend you for being an innovator and trying to create something of value.
Mr Barr added that Congress should view innovation for opportunities in promoting financial inclusion, aiding small businesses and bringing the financial system to underbanked communities. The burden should be on the government to justify regulation, he said.
Later, Mr Barr said Facebook shouldn’t be “bullied” by politicians into being “speech police” online. He then asked Mr Zuckerberg if he would pledge that Facebook will not censor political ads on the platform or in support of President Trump, in particular.
“We believe that people should be able to see for themselves what politicians are saying,” Mr Zuckerberg said.
