鈥淐ongresswoman, yes鈥︹��

鈥淪enator, no鈥︹��

鈥淐ongressman, we already do that.鈥�

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg patiently explained his platform to occasionally befuddled U.S. lawmakers without making any promises to overhaul it in the face of regulation, in a marathon two-day Congressional hearing to address the social media giant鈥檚 use and potential misuse of personal data.

Zuckerberg repeatedly apologized for the Cambridge Analytica data breach and acknowledged that regulation of his platform appears to be 鈥渋nevitable,鈥� but never went so far as to promise any specific changes to the social media behemoth that 鈥� he frequently pointed out 鈥� began in his Harvard dorm room.

Here鈥檚 what we learned from Zuckerberg鈥檚 10 hours of testimony before the Senate on Tuesday and the House on Wednesday.

What is Facebook, and how should it be regulated?

This was one of the central questions of the hearing, although it still created a lot of confusion.

Many lawmakers tried to hammer out a definition of Facebook as a company, in hopes of finding an existing industry model to regulate it. Is it an essential communication service, like the telephone? Is it a monopoly that鈥檚 become too powerful and needs to be broken up? Or is it a media company, and therefore responsible for the content published on its platform?

Zuckerberg rejected those suggestions, saying he considers it a 鈥渢echnology company鈥� that employs programmers to write code. He added that the company has interests in many fields 鈥� including running aircraft 鈥� but he doesn鈥檛 think that makes it an aerospace company.

However, he also acknowledged that it鈥檚 probably a matter of time until regulation becomes necessary.

鈥淭he internet is growing in importance around the world in people鈥檚 lives, and I think that it is inevitable that there will need to be some regulation,鈥� he said.

But like, what IS Facebook?

While some were trying to engage with the finer points of Facebook鈥檚 business model, many elder statesmen 鈥� particularly in the Senate, where the average age is 62 鈥� appeared to have an extremely tenuous grasp of social media in general, leading critics to compare Zuckerberg鈥檚 testimony to a tech support session.

Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, 84, asked Zuckerberg how Facebook makes money.

鈥淪enator, we run ads,鈥� Zuckerberg said, smirking.

鈥淗ow can someone control keeping the content within the realm they want it to without being collected?鈥� asked Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla.

鈥淚f you don鈥檛 want any data to be collected around advertising, you can turn that off and we won鈥檛 do it,鈥� Zuckerberg said. In other words, users can turn off targeted ads on the platform, or restrict what information they provide.

Many basic questions were repeated by multiple lawmakers over the two days of testimony.

Some asked how Facebook gets data in the first place. It鈥檚 voluntary, Zuckerberg pointed out.

Others suggested Facebook ask people before it allows third parties to look at their data. It does, Zuckerberg said.

One asked if he could take his personal data and go to another social media platform with it 鈥� as if it were the same as withdrawing your money from one bank and taking it to another. Zuckerberg said there鈥檚 nothing stopping anyone from giving their personal info to another social media platform. He also pointed out that users can download Facebook鈥檚 file on them to see what the company has access to.

A handful of individuals even went so far as to hold up their phones or tablets to demonstrate that they know how to use Facebook.

鈥淚t鈥檚 wonderful for us seniors to connect with our relatives,鈥� said Congressman Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla.

Zuckerberg cares about his privacy

According to the , Zuckerberg spent quite a bit of time, money and effort to prepare for the hearing, hiring coaches to grill him on questions he might face during his marathon sessions before the Senate and Congress. He answered most of his questions carefully, starting each response with the word 鈥淐ongressman,鈥� 鈥淐ongresswoman鈥� or 鈥淪enator.鈥�

But Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin managed to hit the billionaire with a curve ball that caught him off guard.

鈥淢r. Zuckerberg, would you be comfortable sharing with us the name of the hotel you stayed in last night?鈥� Durbin asked on Tuesday.

鈥淯m,鈥� Zuckerberg said. He paused, smiled awkwardly, shook his head and licked his lips. 鈥淣o,鈥� he finally said, drawing laughter from the room.

Durbin continued to press him on the issue. 鈥淚f you messaged anybody this week, would you share with us the names of the people you messaged?鈥�

鈥淪enator, no, I would probably not choose to do that publicly here,鈥� Zuckerberg replied.

鈥淚 think maybe this is what this is all about: Your right to privacy,鈥� Durbin said. 鈥淭he limits of your right to privacy and how much you give away in modern America in the name of 鈥榗onnecting people around the world.鈥欌��

Zuckerberg responded by saying: 鈥淚 think everyone should have control over how their information is used.鈥�

He also said his own personal data was exposed in the Cambridge Analytica breach.

Yes, Facebook can figure out what you鈥檙e doing even when you鈥檙e logged out

Zuckerberg acknowledged that Facebook continues to keep track of users鈥� behaviour even when they鈥檙e logged out of its service.

鈥淭here have been reports that Facebook can track a user鈥檚 internet browsing activity even after that user has logged off of the Facebook platform,鈥� Sen. Roger Wicker said on Tuesday. 鈥淐an you confirm whether or not this is true?鈥�

鈥淪enator, I want to make sure I get this accurate so it would probably be better to have my team follow up afterwards,鈥� Zuckerberg said.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 know?鈥� Wicker pressed.

鈥淚 know that people use cookies on the internet, and that you can probably co-relate activity between sessions,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e do that for a number of reasons, including security and including measuring ads to make sure that the ad experiences are the most effective, which of course people cannot doubt of (sic), but I want to make sure that I鈥檓 precise in my answer so let me follow up.鈥�

Facebook needs your data to make money

One of the tensest moments of the hearing came on Wednesday, when Frank Pallone, R-N.J., asked Zuckerberg for a yes-or-no answer on data collection 鈥� and did not receive the answer he asked for.

Pallone asked Zuckerberg to commit to minimizing the amount of personal data collected from users under Facebook鈥檚 default settings, 鈥渢o the greatest extent possible.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 hard for you to say yes to, unless I鈥檓 missing something.鈥�

鈥淐ongressman, this is a complex issue that I think deserves more than a one-word answer,鈥� Zuckerberg replied.

Facebook鈥檚 business model is reliant on collecting users鈥� data, as Zuckerberg pointed out in another moment at Tuesday鈥檚 Senate hearing.

鈥淲e do not sell data to advertisers,鈥� Zuckerberg said. 鈥淲hat we allow is for advertisers to tell us who they want to reach. And then we do the placement.鈥�

In other words, Facebook uses data provided by users to help advertisers target them based on location, interests, age and shopping habits. Users can opt out of this, but the whole system is essentially a honey trap: the more info a given Facebook user shares with friends, the more likely they are to receive ads targeting their specific behaviours.

But Facebook isn鈥檛 turning this personal data over wholesale to advertisers or third parties. Instead, third parties are simply asking for 鈥� and often receiving 鈥� people鈥檚 data through Facebook enabled apps. Anyone who plays a game on Facebook, for instance, will be prompted with a page asking for access to certain profile information before proceeding. This can including basic info such as a user鈥檚 profile picture and email address, or more invasive data such as relationship status or a list of friends.

Cambridge Analytica is accused of using a quiz app to ask for data in this manner, before turning around and using the data it harvested for other purposes. The company has denied the allegations that it misused data to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

The internet is a savage and hilarious place

No one is safe from ridicule on the internet 鈥� not even the founder of its most successful social media platform.

Online users eviscerated Zuckerberg with a deluge of memes inspired by his testimony, mocking everything from his seemingly robotic appearance to the very deliberate manner in which he sipped his water.

Some also pointed out that the 33-year-old tech billionaire, who is five-foot-seven, was using a booster seat.

With files from The Associated Press