Meta, TikTok and X CEOs grilled on child exploitation by US lawmakers
- Social media firms have been accused of not doing enough to protect young people facing issues ranging from sexual predators to bullying to eating disorders
- Republican and Democratic senators came together in a rare show of agreement, but it’s not clear if this will be enough to pass online child safety legislation
Sexual predators. Addictive features. Suicide and eating disorders. Unrealistic beauty standards. Bullying. These are just some of the issues young people are dealing with on social media – and children’s advocates and lawmakers say companies are not doing enough to protect them.
On Wednesday, the CEOs of Meta Platforms, TikTok, X and other social media companies went before the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify as lawmakers and parents grow increasingly concerned about the effects of social media on young people’s lives.
The hearing began with recorded testimony from kids and parents who said they or their children were exploited on social media. Throughout the hours-long event, parents who lost children to suicide silently held up pictures of their dead kids.
“They’re responsible for many of the dangers our children face online,” US Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, who chairs the committee, said in 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 Mark Zuckerberg, Republican 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.
