MINNEAPOLIS _ Al Franken edged back into the spotlight Tuesday, speaking at a cybersecurity conference in Lisbon, Portugal, four months after resigning from the U.S. Senate amid sexual misconduct allegations.
The Minnesota Democrat criticized tech giants Facebook and Google for carelessness with users' data and said that more federal regulations might be necessary to constrain their conduct.
"Facebook doesn't have to care about the privacy and security of their users' online information because there's no mass exodus when it violates those rules," Franken said at the Privacy Xchange Forum, hosted by security company CyberScout.
"They have no real competitors ... and that means users have no defense."
He was describing the reaction of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg after reports that political data firm Cambridge Analytica, which was hired by Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, had gained access to private information on 87 million Facebook users.
"Why didn't Facebook do anything? Why did it take so long?" Franken asked. "I think it's because they knew they could get away with it."
Franken made no reference to the end of his Senate career. He spoke in serious tones and suggested that Congress must act to protect Americans' privacy _ and democracy.
"If we can't have a political discourse where we agree on basic, objective facts ... then our democratic government will continue to be polarized and paralyzed," he said. That plays into the hands of those who want democracies like the U.S. to "fall into disarray and dysfunction."
Franken left the Senate after being accused by several women of unwanted and inappropriate touching as the #MeToo movement was taking root. "I may be resigning my seat, but I am not giving up my voice," Franken said Dec. 7 on the Senate floor.
He denied some allegations and apologized for others, but Senate Democrats demanded that he step down. Democrat Tina Smith was appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton to complete Franken's term.
Franken's last public appearance was on Dec. 28 in Minneapolis. "We still have a lot of work to do together," he told supporters.
During a brief question-and-answer session in Lisbon, Franken displayed a bit of his trademark humor when he was asked if U.S. election system is secure.
"I think it's completely secure and we have nothing to worry about," he said with deadpan delivery. He waited a beat and smiled before adding, "I think it isn't secure and I worry about that a lot."
He added a warning about Russia's meddling: "They'll be back. They never left."
A Franken aide said that he has no additional public appearances scheduled. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said at a panel discussion last month that Franken has "had two acts and he's still going to have a third."
