MSNBC host Katy Tur said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg looks like he's withholding information related to Facebook's handling of political ads.
"They are having a hard time not coming off as pretty shady, frankly," Tur said on Wednesday. "And Zuckerberg is having a hard time not coming off as if he's hiding something. I mean, it seems like there's an ulterior motive there because, on the face of it, allowing politicians to lie on Facebook doesn't really make sense."
Zuckerberg appeared before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday to discuss Facebook's plan to launch its cryptocurrency project Libra, but he was also questioned about his decision not to block controversial political ads shown on the social network.
This month President Donald Trump released a campaign ad on Facebook that many Democratic lawmakers have said ought to be removed for being false. The ad targeted former vice president Joe Biden for allegedly withholding money meant for Ukraine in order to induce them to drop an investigation into Hunter Biden.
In response, presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) released a Facebook campaign ad last week stating Zuckerberg has "given Donald Trump free rein to lie on his platform."
Zuckerberg said he believes his users should be able to decide the validity of the political content advertised on the Facebook platform. During a recent interview with Fox News, Zuckerberg defended Facebook's decision on advertisements.
"I don't think that people want any given private company to be making so many important decisions about speech or elections or the democratic process," Zuckerberg said. "I certainly think that even we make too many important decisions about speech."