Facebook CEO visits Washington amid push for tech oversight

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FILE - In this April 11, 2018, file photo, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before a House Energy and Commerce hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington about the use of Facebook data to target American voters in the 2016 election and data privacy. Zuckerberg will be in Washington Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019, to meet with lawmakers and talk about internet regulation. The company said the meetings are not public and it did not give details on whom Zuckerberg is meeting with and what, exactly, he'll discuss. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is visiting Washington to discuss potential regulation of the tech industry with lawmakers, particularly when it comes to the collection of users’ personal data on their platforms.

Congress has been debating a privacy law that could curtail the ability of companies like Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple to collect and make money off users’ personal data. A national law, which would be the first of its kind in the U.S., could allow people to see or prohibit use of their data.

Zuckerberg last spring called for tighter regulations to protect consumers’ data, control harmful online content, and ensure election integrity and data portability.

Facebook, a social media giant with nearly 2.5 billion users, is under heavy scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators for its business practices.