Minnesota Democrat Al Franken, who resigned from the U.S. Senate in January amid sexual misconduct allegations, used his first public appearance since resigning to lambast Silicon Valley's leading technology titans and call for greater regulation in the realm of data privacy.
Speaking at the Privacy XChange Forum in Lisbon, Portugal on Tuesday, Franken assailed tech giants like Facebook and Google, claiming the companies had acted carelessly in safeguarding the data of their users, according to the Star Tribune.
The majority of Franken's criticism was leveled at Facebook, which is still facing the fallout of a scandal involving business it conducted with analytics firm Cambridge Analytica. The scandal, which resulted in the data of more than 50 million Facebook users being divulged in the lead up to the 2016 presidential election, ignited the conversation concerning privacy and security.
Franken claimed Facebook had prior knowledge of their platform's susceptibilities and failed to act until it was too late.
"Facebook talks about Cambridge Analytica ... as if they are isolated bad actors," Franken said. "But as we know ... the vulnerabilities that Cambridge Analytica exploited were well known within Facebook and within the developer community."
Franken partially laid the blame for the company's delayed response on the fact Facebook lacked viable competitors that could step in and pose a threat to the company's market share.
"Facebook doesn’t have to care about the privacy and security of their users’ online information because there’s no mass exodus when it violates those rules," Franken said.
"They have no real competitors … and that means users have no defense," he added.
Prior to his resignation, Franken was a vocal critic of tech companies and what he saw as their encroachment on user privacy and competition. During the 112th Congress, Franken lobbied then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) to create the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law.
In his remarks, Franken also castigated the tech industry for spending extensively to lobby against new regulations and measures to ensure data privacy.
The former senator claimed he was speaking out to ensure the right lessons were learned and Congress acted to protect the privacy of average Americans.
"I'm not just here to cast blame," Franken said. "I'm here to make sure it doesn't happen again."
Conspicuously absent from the conference was any hint or mention of the scandal that eviscerated Franken's political career and forced him from office only four months ago.
Adam Levin, one of the lead organizer's of the conference and self-described friend of Franken, seemed to purposefully shy away from the topic while providing Franken's introduction, rather choosing to focus on the rosier side of his friend's personal and professional history.
"What can I tell you about Sen. Franken that you may not already know?" Levin asked. "Well first, he's a graduate of Harvard College ... he got a perfect score on the standardized test you need to take to get into college--and that is a pretty unique feat."
When discussing Franken's tenure in the Senate, Levin exalted the former comedian's work on climate change, campaign finance reform, and data privacy. He also noted Franken, who was called on to resign by the majority of his Democratic colleagues, had served with "honor and distinction for almost a decade" before departing.
"Sen. Franken was elected to the United States Senate from Minnesota in 2008," Levin said. "Sen. Franken served with honor and distinction for almost a decade, he left the Senate in January of this year."
Levin also described Franken, who has maintained that he does not "in the same way" remember the interactions that have led eight women to accuse of him of unwanted sexual contact, as a "truth-teller."
"A tireless truth-teller, an outspoken champion of people–both those that elected him and those that weren't smart enough to elect him," Levin stated.
Levin finished his introduction by stating Franken was "both an inspiration and a hero" to him.