Last Tuesday, the first of two public hearings of Mark Zuckerberg in the US parliament, specifically in the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, took place.
The lawmakers briefly questioned the security offered by the Facebook platform, highlighted its monopoly status, and referred to the misuse of the platform's users' data, interference in democratic elections and much more. 
Initially, the Facebook CEO said that he now considers regulations necessary, but things did not go so well in the rest of the hearing.
“What you have created represents the American dream,” Senator John Thune, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, told Zuckerberg.
“However, you have the obligation to ensure that the dream does not become a nightmare of private life”.
Thune called the hearing “extraordinary,” noting that Facebook’s more than 2 billion users represent 1,500 times the population of his country.
Facebook’s steps so far are “unlikely to be enough,” Thune said, noting that the Cambridge Analytica case is unlikely to be an isolated incident.
In Zuckerberg’s testimony before a joint hearing between the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees today, the Facebook CEO was forced to answer whether his company is a monopoly.
Senator Lindsey Graham asked Zuckerberg:
“Who is your biggest competitor?”
The CEO tried to answer the question, mentioning the companies Google, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft as “overlap” to Facebook.
“If I buy a Ford, and it doesn’t work well, and I don’t like it, I can buy a Chevy. If I’m frustrated with Facebook, what’s the equivalent product I can sign up for?” Graham asked, interrupting Zuckerberg.
When Zuckerberg tried to break down Facebook’s different types of services again, Graham repeated his question.
“I don't talk about categories. I talk about the real competition you face. Because car companies face great competition. They make a defective car, it goes out into the world, and people stop buying it and buy another. Is there an alternative solution for Facebook?”
Zuckerberg tried to point out that the “average American uses eight different apps” to connect with their friends, trying to frame Facebook as just one of many apps out there. Shortly after, Graham interrupted him and asked if he thought Facebook was a monopoly.
“I certainly don’t think so,” Zuckerberg replied, as the committee laughed.
Senator Ed Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, asked if Zuckerberg would “support a law to ensure that children under 16 have better privacy protections?”
Mark Zuckerberg, however, apparently would not support such a law.
“I think it’s an important principle,” the Facebook chief said, and that it “deserves a lot of discussion.” But when pressed, he said, “I don’t know if we need a law like that.”
“America deserves a privacy bill that gives consumers, not companies, control over their personal and sensitive information,” Markey said.
Another important point of the hearing was the widely circulated case that Facebook serves ads by listening in on your phone’s microphone.
For years, Facebook has denied that it listens to its users in real time through their phone’s microphone. Thanks to Senator Gary Peters, the issue was officially recorded in the committee’s minutes:
“Yes or no, does Facebook use the audio it receives from mobile devices to enrich information about its users?” he asked. “No,” said Mr. Mark Zuckerberg, and it was recorded.
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