Lawmakers on Wednesday denounced the executives of Meta, TikTok, of technology on young people have increased. mushroomed.
During a highly charged three-and-a-half-hour hearing, members of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee raised their voices and repeatedly lambasted the five tech leaders — who run online services popular with teens and teenagers. young children – for prioritizing profits over the well-being of citizens. young people. Some said the companies had “blood on their hands” and users would “die waiting” for them to make changes to protect children. At one point, lawmakers compared tech companies to cigarette companies.
“Every parent in America is terrified of the waste that is directed toward our children,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas.
Tech chiefs, some of whom came forward after being forced to appear, said they have invested billions to strengthen security measures on their platforms. Some said they supported a bill that strengthens children’s privacy and parental controls, while others pointed out their rivals’ flaws. All the executives emphasized that they were parents themselves.
During a heated exchange with Sen. Josh Hawley, Republican of Missouri, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s chief executive, stood up and turned toward dozens of parents of victims of online child sexual exploitation .
“I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through,” Mr. Zuckerberg said. “No one should have to go through the things your families went through. He did not say whether Meta’s platforms played a role in the suffering and said the company was investing in efforts to prevent such experiences.
The bipartisan hearing encapsulated growing concern about the impact of technology on children and adolescents. Last year, Dr. Vivek Murthy, U.S. surgeon general, identified social media as a cause of a mental health crisis among young people. More than 105 million images, videos and online materials related to child sexual abuse were reported in 2023 to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the government-designated image clearinghouse federal. Parents have accused the platforms of fueling cyberbullying and child suicides.
The issue has united Republicans and Democrats, with lawmakers pushing to crack down on how Silicon Valley companies treat their youngest and most vulnerable users. Some lawmakers, seizing on a topic that has angered parents, have called for action and introduced bills to end the distribution of child pornography and to hold platforms accountable for protecting young people.
Tech giants are facing increasing scrutiny domestically and internationally over their effects on children. Some states have passed laws requiring social media services to verify the age of their users or take other steps to protect young people, although these rules have been challenged in court. Online safety laws have also been approved in the European Union and Britain.
The White House also spoke out on Wednesday. “There is now undeniable evidence” that social media contributes to the youth mental health crisis, said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Yet the questioning of tech leaders Wednesday may not mean much, if history is to be believed. 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 storming of the US Capitol on January 6 – but no federal law has been adopted to hold technology companies accountable. Dozens of bills failed after partisan wrangling over details and lobbying efforts by the tech industry.
David Vladeck, a professor at Georgetown University Law School and former consumer protection official at the Federal Trade Commission, compared Congress’s actions on technology to the cartoon “Peanuts.”
“Congress has always insisted on technology legislation that seems essential, but I feel like Charlie Brown: Every time he wants to play football, Lucy takes it away,” he said.
The federal government has also failed to act on existing laws that could provide more resources to combat online child abuse, The New York Times found. It’s worth noting that funding for law enforcement has not kept pace with the staggering increase in reports of online abuse, even though Congress has been authorized to release more money.
On Wednesday, Mr. Zuckerberg testified before Congress for the eighth time. Shou Chew, chief executive of TikTok, was back as a witness less than a year after appearing at a hearing. Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap, Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, and Jason Citron, CEO of Discord, testified for the first time after lawmakers subpoenaed them.
Lawmakers have focused on the harmful effects of social media on children since 2021, when a Meta whistleblower, Frances Haugen, revealed internal documents showing that the company knew its Instagram platform was making children worse. body image among adolescents. The Senate Judiciary Committee has since held several hearings with tech executives, sexual exploitation experts and others to shine a light on dangerous online activities for children.
Before Wednesday’s hearing began, lawmakers released internal emails between top Meta executives, including Mr. Zuckerberg, that showed his company had rejected calls to increase resources to combat security issues children.
The hearing, held in the Senate’s Dirksen Building, began with a video of victims of child sexual exploitation, who said technology companies had failed them. In a rare show of agreement, Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee took turns accusing tech leaders of being aware of the dangers children face on their platforms.
The “constant quest for corporate engagement and profit at the expense of basic safety puts our children and grandchildren at risk,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, the committee chairman and Democrat from Illinois.
At one point, Senator Hawley told Mr. Zuckerberg: “Your product is killing people. »
Mr. Zuckerberg and Mr. Chew have received the most attention, with lawmakers chastising them for not supporting child safety legislation. After lawmakers pressed the problem of drug sales on Snapchat, Mr. Spiegel apologized to parents whose children died of fentanyl overdoses after purchasing the drug through the platform.
“I am truly sorry 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 proposals that would expose platforms to lawsuits by repealing a 1996 law, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, that shields internet companies from liability over the content of their sites.
“Nothing will change if we don’t open the doors to the courtrooms,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota. “Money speaks even louder than we do here. »
Sometimes lawmakers venture into areas unrelated to child safety. Mr Chew, in particular, was asked about how TikTok owner ByteDance, based in Beijing, handles US user data. He was also pressed by a report that a TikTok lobbyist in Israel resigned this week over accusations that the platform discriminated against Israelis.
The most popular application among teenagers: YouTube was noticeably absent from the audience. According to the Pew Research Center, seven out of ten teens use YouTube daily. TikTok is used daily by 58% of teens, followed by Snap at 51% and Instagram at 47%.
In 2022, YouTube reported more than 631,000 pieces of content to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to a report produced by Google.
Apple was also absent. The company has angered child protection groups for backing away from a 2021 promise to scan iPhones for child abusive material.
YouTube and Apple were not invited to the hearing. A Judiciary Committee spokesperson said the five executives who testified represented a diverse group of companies.
Weeks before Wednesday’s hearing, some tech companies announced changes to their services aimed at children. Meta introduced tighter controls on direct messaging aimed at teens and stricter parental controls. Snap announced its support for the Kids Online Safety Act, a bill aimed at restricting the collection of children’s data and increasing parental control over social media.
Outside the Capitol building on Wednesday, a nonprofit critical of big tech displayed cardboard cutouts of Mr. Zuckerberg and Mr. Chew sitting atop a mountain of money while clinking glasses of champagne. In the courtroom, parents held up photos of victims of online child sexual exploitation.
Mary Rodee, a parent in the courtroom, said she lost her 15-year-old son Riley in 2021 after sexual exploitation on Facebook Messenger. She has since fought for legislation to protect children online.
“Companies aren’t doing enough,” she said. “Enough talking.”
Kate Conger, Michael H. Keller, Mike Isaac, Sapna Maheshwari, Natacha Singer And Michael D. Shearing reports contributed.