META CEO MARK Zuckerberg has apologised to the parents of children who have experienced harm on social media platforms during a heated US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on online child sexual exploitation.
Zuckerberg faced questions from lawmakers at the hearing, which focused on whether tech companies are doing enough to protect younger users from harmful content, child predators and sexual exploitation.
TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew, X’s Linda Yaccarino, Evan Spiegel of Snap and Discord’s Jason Citron were also grilled during the four-hour session.
The hearing began with recorded testimony from youngsters and parents who said they or their children were exploited on social media.
“They’re responsible for many of the dangers our children face online,” US Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, who chairs the committee, said in his opening remarks.
“Their design choices, their failures to adequately invest in trust and safety, their constant pursuit of engagement and profit over basic safety have all put our kids and grandkids at risk.”
In a heated question and answer session with Zuckerberg, Missouri Senator Josh Hawley asked the Meta CEO if he has personally compensated any of the victims and their families for what they have been through.
“I don’t think so,” Zuckerberg replied.
“There’s families of victims here today. Would you like to apologise to them?” Hawley probed.
As parents rose and held up their children’s pictures, Zuckerberg turned to face them and issued an apology.
“I’m sorry for everything that you have all gone through. It’s terrible. No one should go through the things that your families have suffered,” he said.
Hawley continued to press Zuckerberg, asking if he had taken personal responsibility for the harms his company has caused.
Zuckerberg stayed on message and repeated that Meta’s job is to “build industry-leading tools” and empower parents.
“To make money,” Hawley cut in.
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the Judiciary panel, told Zuckerberg that he had “blood on your hands”.
“You have a product that’s killing people,” he said.
Watch as Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Meta, directly addresses parents whose children had been victims of online harassment and exploitation during a Senate hearing with executives from TikTok, X, Snap and Discord. https://t.co/dphdQKQwKJ pic.twitter.com/m524T5iuCZ
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 31, 2024
Zuckerberg told the lawmakers that “keeping young people safe online has been a challenge since the internet began and as criminals evolve their tactics, we have to evolve our defenses too.”
He added that, according to research, “on balance” social media was not harmful to the mental health of young people.
“I don’t think it makes any sense,” said Durbin.
“There isn’t a parent in this room who’s had a child…(who) hasn’t changed right in front of (their) eyes” because of an “emotional experience” on social media, he said.
The executives touted existing safety tools on their platforms and the work they have done with non-profit organisations and law enforcement to protect children.
Snapchat had broken ranks ahead of the hearing and began backing a federal bill that would create a legal liability for apps and social platforms that recommend harmful content to minors.
Snap CEO Spiegel reiterated the company’s support and asked the industry to back the bill.
Chew said TikTok is vigilant about enforcing its policy barring children under 13 from using the app. Yaccarino said X, formerly Twitter, does not cater to children.
“We do not have a line of business dedicated to children,” Yaccarino said. She said the company will also support Stop CSAM Act, a federal bill that make it easier for victims of child exploitation to sue tech companies.
Yet child health advocates say social media companies have failed repeatedly to protect minors.
“When you’re faced with really important safety and privacy decisions, the revenue in the bottom line should not be the first factor that these companies are considering,” said Zamaan Qureshi, co-chair of Design It For Us, a youth-led coalition advocating for safer social media.
“These companies have had opportunities to do this before they failed to do that. So independent regulation needs to step in.”
Ahead of the session, Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said it would block direct messages sent to young teens by strangers.
By default, teenagers under 16 can now only be messaged or added to group chats by people they already follow or are connected to.
Meta also tightened content restrictions for teenagers on Instagram and Facebook, making it harder for them to view posts that discuss suicide, self-harm or eating disorders.
Singling out Meta, senators pointed to internal company documents that show that Zuckerberg declined to strengthen the teams devoted to tracking online dangers to teens.
“The hypocrisy is mind-boggling,” Senator Richard Blumenthal told the New York Times.
Those documents are part of a major lawsuit brought by about 40 states jointly suing Meta over alleged failures with children.
Under US law, platforms are largely shielded from legal liability in relation to content that is shared on their site.
While lawmakers would like to set up more rules to increase online safety, new laws have been stymied by a politically divided Washington and intense lobbying by big tech.
One existing proposal is the Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, which aims to protect children from algorithms that might trigger anxiety or depression.
Another idea would require social media platforms to verify the age of account holders and completely bar children under the age of 13.
“I don’t think you’re gonna solve the problem. Congress is gonna have to help you,” Senator John Neely Kennedy told the executives.
With reporting from Press Association
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