Lawmakers on Wednesday accused the chief executives of Meta, TikTok, X, Snap and Discord of content intended to be harmful to children on their platforms, amid growing concerns about the impact of technology on young people. He ignored the situation and accused him of causing an “American crisis.” mushroom-like.
During a heated three-and-a-half hour hearing, members of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee spoke out as five technology leaders behind online services popular with teenagers and young children put their well-being ahead of other people. He repeatedly accused him of prioritizing profits. Young people. One person said that companies are “freaking out” and that users “will die waiting” for companies to make changes to protect children. At one point, lawmakers likened tech companies to cigarette manufacturers.
“Every parent in America is afraid of the garbage being directed at their children,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
Technology leaders, some of whom were forced to appear with subpoenas, said they had invested billions of dollars to strengthen security measures on their platforms. Some said they supported legislation to strengthen child privacy and parental controls, while others pointed out shortcomings in rival companies. The executives all emphasized that they are parents.
In a heated exchange with Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stood up and spoke to the parents of dozens of online child sexual exploitation victims. gave a speech to
“I'm sorry for everything you've been through,” Zuckerberg said. “No one should go through what your family went through.” He did not say whether Meta's platform contributed to that suffering, but said the company is investing in efforts to prevent such experiences. He said he is doing so.
The bipartisan hearing summarized the growing alarm over the impact of technology on children and adolescents. Last year, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy blamed social media for the youth mental health crisis. In 2023, more than 105 million online images, videos, and materials of him related to child sexual abuse were reported to the National Center on Missing and Exploited Children, a federally designated imaging agency. Parents have accused the platform of inciting cyberbullying and child suicide.
Republicans and Democrats are united on the issue, with lawmakers seeking to crack down on how Silicon Valley companies treat their youngest and most vulnerable users. Some lawmakers have taken note of the issue that has infuriated parents and are calling for measures to stop the spread of child sexual abuse material and hold platforms accountable for protecting young people. did.
Big tech companies face intense domestic and international scrutiny over their impact on children. Some states have enacted laws requiring social media services to verify users' ages and take other measures to protect young people, but these provisions are facing legal challenges. Online safety laws have also been approved in the European Union and the United Kingdom.
The White House also weighed in Wednesday. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said there is “undeniable evidence now” that social media is contributing to the mental health crisis among young people.
But if history is any guide, Wednesday's criticism of tech leaders may not matter much in the end. Meta executives have testified 33 times since 2017 on issues including election interference by foreign agents, antitrust laws and the role of social media in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, but they have not held the tech company responsible. No federal law has yet been passed asking the question. Dozens of bills were defeated after partisan fights over details and lobbying by the tech industry.
David Vladeck, a professor at Georgetown University School of Law and former head of the Federal Trade Commission's consumer protection division, likened Congress' actions on technology to the comic strip “Peanuts.''
“Congress has consistently passed technology bills that we think are essential, but I feel like Charlie Brown. Every time he tries to kick the football, Lucy steals it from him. ” he said.
The federal government has also failed to comply with existing laws that could provide more resources to combat online child abuse, The New York Times found. Remarkably, even though Congress was authorized to release additional funds, law enforcement funding has not kept pace with the staggering increase in online abuse reports.
Zuckerberg testified to Congress for the eighth time on Wednesday. TikTok CEO Shou Chiu returned as a witness less than a year after appearing at a hearing. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, X CEO Linda Yaccarino, and Discord CEO Jason Citron testified for the first time after being subpoenaed by lawmakers.
Lawmakers have focused on the negative effects of social media on children since Meta whistleblower Frances Haugen revealed internal documents in 2021 that revealed that the company's Instagram platform It shows that they were aware that they were exacerbating body image issues among teenagers. The Senate Judiciary Committee has since held several hearings with technology executives, sexual exploitation experts and others to highlight dangerous online practices against children.
Before Wednesday's hearing began, lawmakers released internal emails from Meta executives, including Zuckerberg, rejecting calls for Meta to increase resources to address child safety issues. It revealed that.
The hearing, held in Dirksen's Senate Office Building, began with videos of child sexual exploitation victims alleging that technology companies had failed them. In a rare show of agreement, Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee took turns accusing technology company leaders of knowing about the harms children would encounter on their platforms.
Sen. Dick Durbin, the Illinois Democrat and chairman of the committee, said companies are “putting our children and grandchildren at risk by relentlessly pursuing commitment and profit over basic safety.” “I'm exposed,” he said.
At one point, Sen. Hawley told Mr. Zuckerberg, “Your products are killing people.”
Zuckerberg and Chu received the most attention, with lawmakers reprimanding them for not supporting child safety laws. After lawmakers confronted Spiegel about drug sales on Snapchat, he apologized to parents who lost their children to fentanyl overdoses after purchasing drugs through the platform.
“We deeply regret that we were unable to prevent these tragedies,” he said, adding that Snap blocks drug-related search terms and works with law enforcement.
Lawmakers also focused on a proposal that would expose platforms to lawsuits by repealing Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a 1996 law that shields internet companies from liability for content on their sites.
“Unless we open the doors of the courts, nothing is going to change,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota. “The money story is even more powerful than what we talk about here.”
At times, lawmakers wandered into areas unrelated to child safety. In particular, Chu faced questions about how Beijing-based TikTok owner ByteDance handles U.S. users' data. He was also questioned over reports that an Israeli lobbyist resigned this week over accusations that the TikTok platform discriminated against Israelis.
Conspicuously absent from the hearing was YouTube, the most popular app among teenagers. According to Pew Research Center, 7 out of 10 teens use YouTube every day. TikTok is used daily by 58 percent of his teens, followed by Snap at 51 percent and Instagram at 47 percent.
In 2022, YouTube reported more than 631,000 pieces of content to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to a report created by Google.
Apple was also absent. The company angered child safety groups by backtracking on a 2021 promise to scan iPhones for abusive content against children.
YouTube and Apple were not invited to the hearing. A Judiciary Committee spokeswoman said the five executives who testified represented a diverse group of companies.
In the weeks before Wednesday's hearing, some tech companies announced changes to their services regarding children. Meta introduced tighter controls on direct messaging for teens and increased parental control. Snap expressed support for the Kids Online Safety Act, proposing legislation that would limit data collection about children and give parents more control over social media.
On Wednesday, a nonprofit group critical of big tech displayed cardboard cutouts of Mr. Zuckerberg and Mr. Chu sitting on piles of cash and clinking glasses of champagne in front of the Capitol. In the hearing room, parents held up photos of victims of online child sexual exploitation.
Mary Roddy, a parent in the hearing room, said she lost her 15-year-old son Riley in 2021 after being sexually exploited on Facebook Messenger. Since then, she has been fighting for legislation to protect children online.
“Companies aren't doing enough,” she says. “Enough talk.”
Kate Conger, Michael H. Keller, mike isaac, Sapna Maheshwari, natasha singer and Michael D. Shear Contributed to the report.
