Where is Mark Zuckerberg? Justin Sullivan/Getty Images 
 
 Update, Mar. 21, 3:45pm: Zuckerberg finally broke his silence on Facebook by posting a statement about Cambridge Analytica on his page. 
 
 Original Post: Ever since reports emerged that data firm Cambridge Analytica accessed personal information from more than 50 million Facebook accounts and later used it to aid the Trump presidential campaign, we’ve heard nary a peep from CEO Mark Zuckerberg. As The Atlantic and Recode both asked in stories, “Where is Mark Zuckerberg?” In fact, a corporate statement from Facebook is the only public indication Zuckerberg has been following the controversy: “Mark, Sheryl and their teams are working around the clock to get all the facts and take the appropriate action moving forward, because they understand the seriousness of this issue. The entire company is outraged we were deceived. We are committed to vigorously enforcing our policies to protect people’s information and will take whatever steps are required to see that this happens.” 
 
 On the platform he founded, Zuckerberg has been similarly quiet. After spending hours Facebook-stalking Zuckerberg, Slate has determined that this is the longest span of time he’s gone without posting anything on his page since at least the beginning of 2015. The last dispatch on his feed is from 19 days ago on Mar. 2: a picture of himself and his wife, Priscilla Chan, holding a tray of triangular Jewish pastries called “hamentashen.” The longest he’d abstained from posting before that was during his parental leave in December, when he went 18 days without a status update. 
 
 Zuckerberg has been less active on his platform overall in 2018. From 2015 to 2017, he would post one or twice every few days, often uploading pictures of his family or meetings with foreign leaders. Last year, he used the platform to track his progress on visiting states across the country, his annual goal for self-improvement. The longest stretches of time without any posts were usually no longer than a week. This year, with the goal of improving Facebook, he’s been posting less frequently. 
 
 Given Facebook’s PR narrative, it makes sense that Zuckerberg hasn’t posted anything since the weekend. Because he’s supposed to be “working around the clock” to get to the bottom of this Cambridge Analytica mess, the optics of posting another picture of himself with more pastries probably wouldn’t be great. The Huffington Post did find that Zuckerberg has been “liking” posts since the weekend. He did so with two posts from Saturday, and on Monday, he “liked” a picture of a hiker at Yosemite. 
 
 There are reports that Zuckerberg will finally emerge and give a speech on the controversy on Wednesday. Perhaps, after that, he’ll get back to posting. 

 Chief Executive of Cambridge Analytica (CA) Alexander Nix, leaves the offices in central London, Tuesday March 20, 2018. Cambridge Analytica, has been accused of improperly using information from more... (Associated Press) 
 
 NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on the alleged use of Facebook data to influence the U.S. presidential election (all times local): 
 
 3:50 p.m. 
 
 Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is admitting mistakes and outlining steps to protect user data in light of privacy scandal involving a Trump-connected data-mining firm. 
 
 Zuckerberg is breaking more than four days of silence as he posts an update about the Cambridge Analytica scandal. 
 
 Zuckerberg posted on his Facebook page Wednesday that Facebook has a "responsibility" to protect its users' data, and "if we can't then we don't deserve to serve you." 
 
 Zuckerberg and Facebook's No. 2 executive, Sheryl Sandberg, have been quiet since news broke Friday that Cambridge may have used data improperly obtained from roughly 50 million Facebook users to try to sway elections. 
 
 ___ 
 
 3 p.m. 
 
 Kenya's opposition says lawyers are poring through a British broadcaster's investigation to see whether legal action is possible against data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica over its role in the country's disputed presidential election last year. 
 
 Cambridge Analytica already is being investigated by British and U.S. authorities over allegations the firm stole data from 50 million Facebook users and used it to manipulate elections. 
 
 National Super Alliance Chief Executive Norman Magaya says a legal team will look into whether Cambridge Analytica was involved in what Kenya's opposition claims is a hack of the electoral commission and manipulation of results in favor of President Uhuru Kenyatta. 
 
 In the Channel 4 report this week based on undercover video, Cambridge Analytica took credit for stage-managing Kenyatta's campaign. It denied any involvement in inflammatory videos targeting Kenyatta's opponents. There was no discussion of mining Facebook data. 
 
 ___ 
 
 1:05 p.m. 
 
 Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to speak sometime in the next day with a "focus on rebuilding trust." 
 
 That's according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly. 
 
 The person gave no further details on timing or where Zuckerberg will speak. But the person said the CEO's plan was "always to speak publicly" about Facebook's latest privacy scandal, which involves Trump campaign consultants who allegedly stole data on tens of millions of Facebook users in order to influence elections. 
 
 Criticism has been brewing as Zuckerberg and his No. 2 executive, Sheryl Sandberg, have been mum since the Cambridge Analytica story broke last Friday. Twitter users have been asking, using the "WhereIsZuck" hashtag. 
 
 __ Barbara Ortutay, New York 
 
 ___ 
 
 (previously from LONDON) 
 
 4:35 p.m. 
 
 The chairman of Romania's ruling party says his Social Democratic Party did not hire Cambridge Analytica for its successful 2016 electoral campaign. And Cambridge Analytica itself reportedly said it did not work on the campaign, despite being interested. 
 
 Liviu Dragnea told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he "categorically" did not hire Cambridge Analytica or its parent company SCL Group, a British strategic communications company. 
 
 His comment came after a British consultant, Rupert Wolfe Murray, who was based in Romania at the time, said he was contacted by Mark Turnbull, a senior official at Cambridge Analytica, in August 2016. 
 
 He said Turnbull had "offered to embed a two-person team" into the Social Democrats' campaign team. Wolfe Murray said he declined the offer because he does not work for political parties. 
 
 He says Turnbull later told him Cambridge Analytica did not work on the 2016 Romanian election. 
 
 The Social Democrats won about 46 percent of the vote and the Liberals came second with 20 percent. 
 
 Separately, investigative platform RISE project reported SCL Group set up an office in Romania in 2011, though it is not clear who they worked for. 
 
 ___ 
 
 3:15 p.m. 
 
 The co-founder of WhatsApp, which was acquired by Facebook four years ago for $19 billion, has joined the movement to delete Facebook. 
 
 Brian Acton tweeted: "It's time. #deletefacebook." 
 
 That hashtag has been trending since reports surfaced in recent days regarding the improper use of personal information on Facebook by Cambridge Analytica, a political research firm used by the Trump campaign before the election. 
 
 Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has remained silent as nearly $50 billion in market capitalization of his company has been wiped out with investors fearing new oversight by government regulators. 
 
 ___ 
 
 1:10 p.m. 
 
 British Prime Minister Theresa May says allegations that Facebook users' data was improperly used by political campaigns are "very concerning." 
 
 May says she expects Facebook and data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica to "comply fully" with British authorities investigating how personal information was obtained and used. 
 
 May told lawmakers in the House of Commons that "people need to have confidence in how their personal data is used." 
 
 Authorities in Britain and the United States are investigating the alleged improper use of data harvested from tens of millions of Facebook users by Cambridge Analytica, which worked on U.S. President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign. 
 
 May said that "as far as I'm aware" the British government has no contracts with Cambridge Analytica or its parent company, SCL. 
 
 ___ 
 
 12:30 p.m. 
 
 A British consultant says Cambridge Analytica approached him before Romania's 2016 parliamentary elections to work for the Social Democratic Party. 
 
 Rupert Wolfe Murray told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Mark Turnbull, a senior official at Cambridge Analytica, contacted him in August 2016. 
 
 He cited an email where Turnbull wrote: "What we have offered is to embed a two-person team into the current campaign team... to provide ongoing strategic advice and assistance across the campaign.... over the next 2-3 months." 
 
 Wolfe Murray said he declined the offer because he does not work for political parties. It was unclear whether Cambridge Analytica played a role in the Dec. 2016 elections, where the Social Democrats won about 46 percent of the vote. The Liberals came second with 20 percent. 
 
 Separately, investigative platform RISE project reported that SCL Group, a British strategic communication company affiliated to Cambridge Analytica, set up an office in Romania in 2011. 
 
 ___ 
 
 12:20 p.m. 
 
 A sell-off in Facebook shares is heading into the third consecutive day, with almost $50 billion in market capitalization evaporating since the start of the week. 
 
 The stock fell 1.5 percent before the opening bell Wednesday and, after falling 9 percent, it's one of the worst weeks in company history. 
 
 Governments on both sides of the Atlantic are calling for CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify on the issue, but he has been silent since a story broke Friday about how a firm tied to the campaign of Donald Trump improperly lifted data on 50 million Facebook users. 
 
 That firm, Cambridge Analytica, suspended CEO Alexander Nix pending an investigation. 
 
 ___ 
 
 11:15 a.m. 
 
 Company filings show that Trump-affiliated data-mining firm Cambridge Analytica has a link to a Chinese security and logistics company run by Erik Prince, the former mercenary who founded private military company Blackwater. 
 
 British corporate records show that Alexander Nix, the suspended chief executive of Cambridge Analytica, is also director of a company called Emerdata Ltd. that was incorporated in August 2017. 
 
 Other Emerdata directors include people associated with Cambridge Analytica, along with Johnson Ko Chun Shun, who was appointed in January. 
 
 Ko is also deputy chairman of Hong Kong-based Frontier Services Group, whose chairman is Prince. 
 
 FSG has attracted attention because of concerns Prince plans to provide special forces veterans to assist Chinese companies investing in risky locations overseas. 
 
 China's biggest state-owned company, Citic, is a major FSG shareholder. 
 
 ___ 
 
 9:40 a.m. 
 
 The Cambridge University researcher who developed an app used by Cambridge Analytica to harvest data from millions of Facebook users claims he has been made a scapegoat. 
 
 Alexandr Kogan told BBC on Wednesday he believed all the information he provided was obtained legitimately. He said he was approached by Cambridge Analytica, which is being investigated by British and U.S. authorities for possible misuse of data. 
 
 He said: "They approached me. In terms of the usage of Facebook data they wrote the terms of service for the app, they provided the legal advice that this was all appropriate." 
 
 Kogan admitted he did not ask enough questions about the data use and did not have a lawyer review the agreement. 
 
 Cambridge Analytica has suspended its top executive as possible misuse of data is checked. 

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 Mark Zuckerberg is finally breaking his silence five days after a data scandal engulfed Facebook. 
 
 The Facebook (FB) CEO pledged Wednesday to take a series of steps to protect data and fix what he called a "breach of trust" between the social network and its users. 
 
 "We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can't then we don't deserve to serve you," Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post. "I've been working to understand exactly what happened and how to make sure this doesn't happen again." 
 
 Zuckerberg spoke with CNN's Laurie Segall in an interview broadcast on "Anderson Cooper 360" Wednesday night. 
 
 News broke this weekend that Cambridge Analytica, a data firm with ties to President Donald Trump's campaign, reportedly accessed information from about 50 million Facebook users without their knowledge. 
 
 Facebook says the data was initially collected by a professor for academic purposes in line with its rules. The information was later transferred to third parties, including Cambridge Analytica, in violation of Facebook's policies. 
 
 Related: Tune in to CNN tonight at 9 p.m. ET for Zuckerberg interview 
 
 The controversy wiped away nearly $50 billion from Facebook's stock price earlier this week and prompted politicians on both sides of the Atlantic to call for Zuckerberg to testify. 
 
 Facebook is now facing lawsuits from investors and users as well as a "delete Facebook" movement. The latest member of the latter: Brian Acton, the cofounder of WhatsApp, which Facebook acquired for $19 billion in 2014. 
 
 In his post Wednesday, Zuckerberg said Facebook will take steps to further restrict developers' access to user data, including automatically removing access for any app the user hasn't opened in at least three months. 
 
 Facebook will also promote an existing tool that helps users revoke permissions of apps accessing their data. The tool will appear at the top of the News Feed page in the next month. 
 
 Zuckerberg said Facebook is "working with regulators" conducting investigations into the Cambridge Analytica issue. 
 
 Related: What you need to know about Facebook's data debacle 
 
 "I started Facebook, and at the end of the day I'm responsible for what happens on our platform," Zuckerberg said. "We will learn from this experience to secure our platform further and make our community safer for everyone going forward." 
 
 Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's COO, also spoke out for the first time since the scandal erupted, calling it "a major violation of peoples' trust." 
 
 -- CNN's Charles Riley and Jackie Wattles contributed to this report.
– "We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can't then we don't deserve to serve you," Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post Wednesday, breaking his silence on what he calls "the Cambridge Analytica situation." It was the Facebook CEO's first public statement since the scandal broke over four days earlier, the AP reports. In fact, according to Slate, the post broke the longest stretch of time Zuckerberg has gone without posting on the social media site he created. His most recent post before Wednesday was back on March 2. A statement from Zuckerberg was probably overdue after news that Cambridge Analytica accessed the personal data of over 50 million Facebook accounts to help the Trump campaign caused Facebook to lose nearly $50 billion from its stock price and a "delete Facebook" movement to gain popularity, CNN reports. In his post, Zuckerberg claimed Facebook already made major changes in 2014 that would prevent a repeat of Cambridge Analytica's actions. (The personality quiz app that gathered the data used in the Cambridge Analytica incident was developed in 2013.) Those changes included not allowing apps to have access to data belonging to a user's friends. But, he added, "There's more to do, and we need to step up and do it." That includes investigating apps that had access to lots of user information prior to the changes in 2014; auditing apps with suspicious activity; tightening access to user data, such as by cutting off access to apps that haven't been used in three months; and more transparency in what apps have access to users' information. "I started Facebook, and at the end of the day I'm responsible for what happens on our platform," Zuckerberg said. "I'm serious about doing what it takes to protect our community."