31 January 2024 , 20:21
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Billionaire Facebook mogul Mark Zuckerberg was today forced to apologise to furious families and "victims" of social media.
In a dramatic day in the United States capital, the bosses of media giants Meta, TikTok, Twitter, and other social media giants appeared before the US Senate Judiciary Committee and faced a grilling. Though the CEOs of big social media companies defended themselves, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was put on the spot and forced to apologise in a tense moment during the hearing.
The hearing started with recorded messages from kids and parents who said they or their children had been exploited on social media. Throughout the long event, parents who had lost children to suicide silently held up pictures of their lost ones.
"They're responsible for many of the dangers our children face online," said U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, who chairs the committee. "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."
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Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta testified before the US Senate Judiciary COmmittee (AFP via Getty Images)In a heated exchange with Mark Zuckerberg, Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley asked the Meta boss 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," Hawley said. "Would you like to apologise to them?" Parents at the hearing stood up, holding pictures of their children. Zuckerberg also stood up, turning to address them directly.
"I'm sorry for everything you have all been through. No one should go through the things that your families have suffered," he said, adding that Meta continues to work on efforts to protect children." He added: "This is why we invest so much and are going to continue doing industry-leading efforts to make sure that no one has to go through the types of things that your families have had to suffer."
Sexual predators, addictive features, suicide and eating disorders, unrealistic beauty standards, and bullying are just some of the issues young people face on social media.
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Zuckerberg was sweating ad wiping his face as he answered questions from senate members (REX/Shutterstock)Advocates for children and lawmakers argue that companies aren't doing enough to protect them, so on Wednesday, the bosses of Meta, TikTok, X, and other social media giants appeared before the US Senate Judiciary Committee.
They were there to answer questions about social media's impact on young people's lives as US politicians begin to focus on their 'safety.'
However, child advocates and parents insist that companies are not doing enough. "Meta's general approach is 'trust us, we'll do the right thing', but how can we trust Meta? They seem to be trying to fool the world," said Arturo Bejar, a former director at the social media giant who recently spoke to Congress about child safety on Meta's platforms.
"Every parent I've met with a kid under 13 is afraid of when their kid is old enough to be on social media." Hawley asked Zuckerberg if he'd take personal responsibility for the harms his company has caused. Zuckerberg repeated that Meta's job is to build tools and empower parents. "To make money," Hawley cut in.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham, the top Republican on the Judiciary panel, agreed with Durbin's sentiments and said he's ready to work with Democrats to solve the issue.
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Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, walks past the photo of a victim of the Hamas attack as he arrives for a full committee hearing (AFP via Getty Images)"After years of working on this issue with you and others, I've come to conclude the following: social media companies as they're currently designed and operate are dangerous products," Graham said. He told the executives their platforms have enriched lives but that it is time to deal with "the dark side."
Discord's Jason Citron was the first to speak, boasting about the safety tools on their platforms and the work they've done with nonprofits and law enforcement to protect minors.
Snapchat had already shown support for a federal bill that would create a legal liability for apps and social platforms that recommend harmful content to minors, with Snap CEO Evan Spiegel reiterating the company's support on Wednesday and asking the industry to back the bill.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew stated that TikTok is vigilant about enforcing its policy barring children under 13 from using the app. CEO Linda Yaccarino said X, formerly Twitter, doesn't cater to children.
"We do not have a line of business dedicated to children," Yaccarino said. She also mentioned that the company will support the Stop CSAM Act, a federal bill that would make it easier for victims of child exploitation to sue tech companies.
However, child health advocates argue that social media companies have repeatedly failed to protect minors.
Zuckerberg apologized at the hearing for "Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis" (AFP via Getty Images)Zamaan Qureshi, co-chair of Design It For Us, a youth-led coalition advocating for safer social media, said: "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. These companies have had opportunities to do this before they failed to do that. So independent regulation needs to step in."
Senators from both the Republican and Democratic parties showed rare unity during the hearing, but it's still uncertain if this will lead to the passing of laws like the Kids Online Safety Act, proposed in 2022 by Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.
Meta is facing lawsuits from numerous states claiming that it intentionally designs features on Instagram and Facebook that get children hooked and has not done enough to safeguard them from online predators.
Meta has recently improved its child safety features, announcing earlier this month that it will start hiding inappropriate content from teenagers' accounts on Instagram and Facebook, including posts about suicide, self-harm and eating disorders.
It also limited minors' ability to receive messages from anyone they don't follow or aren't connected to on Instagram and on Messenger and added new "nudges" to try to discourage teens from browsing Instagram videos or messages late at night. The nudges encourage kids to close the app, though it does not force them to do so.
Google's YouTube is notably missing from the list of companies called to the Senate Wednesday, even though more kids use YouTube than any other platform, according to the Pew Research Center. Pew found that 93% of U.S. teens use YouTube, with TikTok a distant second at 63%.