Facebook makes the Snowden affair look quaint

[Commentary] Mark Zuckerberg’s appearance in Washington is a voluntary, one-off reaction to a scandal. It should be the start of the conversation, not the end: Facebook, like every company that collects and stores personal data, must be made permanently accountable to American political and regulatory institutions. Electronic media, social media and other innovations have created new challenges for law enforcement and national security; they have also helped to increase polarization and undermine trust in public institutions, in America and everywhere else. Zuckerberg, by himself, is not going to come up with a solution to any of these problems. We are Facebook’s customers, but we are also citizens of a democracy. We have the right to decide how we want this technology to impact our lives and our politics, and it’s time to say so.

[Anne Applebaum is a columnist for the Washington Post]