Zuckerberg says US govt inaction allowed fake news to spread

Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg has said that a lack of action by US authorities on fake political content on the platform after the 2016 US election helped pave the way for a subsequent avalanche of online disinformation.

The CEO - who has himself been widely criticised for a lackluster response to fake news - also called on governments to further regulate private data, political advertising and step up efforts to prevent state actors from interfering in US elections.

"As a private company we don't have the tools to make the Russian government stop... our government is the one that has the tools to apply pressure to Russia," he said during an on-stage interview at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado on Wednesday.

"After 2016 when the government didn't take any kind of counter action, the signal that was sent to the world was that 'ok we're open for business', countries can try to do this stuff... fundamentally there isn't going to be a major recourse from the American government."