Meta Platforms, TikTok CEOs Take Heat in Senate Testimony -- Barrons.com
Mentioned: META SNAP
By Janet H. Cho and Liz Moyer
CEOs from Meta Platforms and TikTok took the brunt of the criticism on Wednesday at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing about child safety on social media and the internet.
Lawmakers grilled Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and TikTok's Shou Chew, asking them to take responsibility for harmful content posted by users on their platforms, and its accessibility by children. Senators accused the companies, and others, of partially bearing responsibility for children who have been sexually exploited or who engaged in self-harm after viewing disturbing content posted on the platforms.
"You have blood on your hands," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) said, a comment that a packed audience applauded.
Five tech executives appeared to testify, including Zuckerberg, Chew, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, X CEO Linda Yaccarino, and Discord CEO Jason Citron.
Here are five takeaways from the hearing, which ended in the early afternoon.
Reform Has Bipartisan Support
Some lawmakers have called for repealing Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act that protects internet companies such as Alphabet's Google, X, and Facebook from liability for content posted by their users.
There is also the Kids Online Safety Act, first proposed by Sen Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.) in early 2022 and reintroduced last year. It would require tech companies and social-media platforms to put better protections in place to safeguard young users, such as content filtration controls.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.) and Sen. Chris Coons (D., Del.) compared how social media companies are treated with how federal regulators grounded Boeing aircraft after a piece of a fuselage blew out during the flight of a 737 MAX 9 operated by Alaska Air Group.
"Why aren't we taking this same type of decisive action on the danger of these platforms when we know these kids are dying?" Klobuchar asked.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Il.) closed the hearing saying there was unanimous agreement for the legislation discussed during the hearing, and that should send a "stark" message.
Zuckerberg Takes the Heat
During the hearing, entitled "Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis," Senators took the opportunity to accuse the executives of ignoring the problems and prioritizing profit over child safety.
Committee Chair Durbin said the companies' "design choices, their failures to adequately invest in trust and safety, and their constant pursuit of engagement and profit over basic safety have all put our kids and grandkids at risk."
But the strongest words were reserved for Meta's Zuckerberg, whose company runs Instagram and Facebook, among other platforms.
At one point, after repeatedly being pressured by Sen. Josh Hawley (R., Mo.), Zuckerberg stood up and directly addressed relatives of online child abuse victims in the audience.
"I am sorry for everything you have all been through," Zuckerberg said. "No one should have to go through the things that your families have suffered, and this is why we invested so much."
