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> [...] and as an EU citizen I find it odd that a meeting that is taking place on behalf of the public is held for closed doors. This is how the EU works. Ther
by atmosx 8y ago
> [...] and as an EU citizen I find it odd that a meeting that is taking place on behalf of the public is held for closed doors.
This is how the EU works. There are WAY more serious discussions in Brussels behind closed doors[1] than this one, it's not by accident, it's by design.
[1] https://www.yanisvaroufakis.eu/2016/03/30/the-eurogroup-made-simple/ https://www.yanisvaroufakis.eu/2016/03/30/the-eurogroup-made...
- petre 8y agoWell, Congress hearings are public. And Varoufakis is right.
- Mirioron 8y agoIt would allow Zuckerberg to talk more candidly. Public perception and opinion is very important to any of these billion-dollar business leaders. If you have an open hearing then there is a snowball's chance in hell that you will hear anything that wasn't carefully planned by teams of PR guys and lawyers. A closed hearing won't be picked apart and (mis)interpreted ever which way, so the speaker can try to get their true point across. The speaker can also acknowledge faults and mention some sensitive issues without making their company's stock ride a rollercoaster.
- jakelazaroff 8y ago> It would allow Zuckerberg to talk more candidly. This is exactly the problem. If he's not able to talk candidly in public, it suggests that Facebook is doing things to which the public would object.
- Cpoll 8y ago> A closed hearing won't be picked apart and (mis)interpreted ever which way, so the speaker can try to get their true point across. In the same post, this is a very good counter-point, I think. Anything this high-profile will be cherry-picked and de-contextualized a million times. Including in Facebook posts, ironically. Speaking candidly is bad PR for anyone that visible, no matter how virtuous.
- girvo 8y agoThe power differential between randoms taking something he says out of context and that of Zuckerberg himself does not really garner much sympathy for him and his company here.
- Trundle 8y agoAny action by anyone will be objected to by some if the audience is large enough.
- AmericanChopper 8y agoNothing could influence Zuckerberg to talk candidly in front of regulators, he'll be speaking the same carefully planned legalese. At least with a public hearing, the public have the benefit of watching him try to bullshit everybody.
- dane-pgp 8y agoOne distinctive aspect of the EU is that the constituent states are genuinely sovereign nations, and retain the convention of sovereign privacy. We see this principle (and its abuse) when nations work on trade deals and treaties together, and more mundanely when a Prime Minister's cabinet has its meetings. To give a specifically British example, the Privy Council holds its meetings behind closed doors, and its (often unelected) members have to take a literal oath of secrecy, yet somehow this aspect of the British constitution does not receive the same criticism as the EU does.