Facebook needs 'some years' to solve problems, says Zuckerberg

Facebook will likely take "a few years" to solve problems about the irregular use of private data from network users, said executive chairman Mark Zuckerberg in an interview published on Monday.

Speaking to Vox news site, Zuckerberg defended the company's business model and heavily rejected criticism of the social networking giant by Apple CEO Tim Cook last week.

Zuckerberg said one of Facebook's problems is his "idealism," focusing on the positive aspects of connecting people, and that "we do not spend enough time investing or thinking about some of the negative uses of tools."

"I believe people are now adequately focused on some of the risks and drawbacks too," he said.

"I think we're going to dig through this hole, but it will take a few years. I wish I could solve all these problems in three to six months, but I think the answers to some of these questions will take a longer time."

He also responded to comments made last week by Cook, who argued that Facebook got into trouble because of a business model focused on monetizing people's data.

"I think this argument - that if you're not paying in any way, we can not worry about you - it's extremely simplistic and not in line with the truth," he said.

The interview was Zuckerberg's latest interview to mitigate the scandal's impact on collecting personal data from 50 million Facebook users used by a company linked to the election campaign that led Republican Donald Trump to the presidency.