WASHINGTON (AFP) – Meta Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Zuckerberg gave a public apology in US Congress on Wednesday as hostile lawmakers grilled tech chiefs over the dangers that children face on social media platforms.
The executives convened by the United States Senate Judiciary Committee were put to task in a session titled ‘Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis’.
Tech giants are confronting a torrent of political anger for not doing enough to thwart online dangers for children, including from sexual predators and teen suicide.
During one round of heated questioning, Zuckerberg was made to stand up and apologise to the families of victims who had packed the committee room. “I’m sorry for everything you have all been through,” he said. “No one should go through the things that your families have suffered.”
Also testifying to senators were X’s Linda Yaccarino, Shou Zi Chew of TikTok, Evan Spiegel of Snap and Discord’s Jason Citron.
“Mister Zuckerberg, you and the companies before us, I know you don’t mean it to be so, but you have blood on your hands. You have a product that’s killing people,” said Senator Lindsey Graham.
Zuckerberg told the lawmakers that “keeping young people safe online has been a challenge since the internet began and as criminals evolve their tactics, we have to evolve our defences too”.
He added that, according to research, “on balance” social media was not harmful to the mental health of young people.
“I don’t think it makes any sense,” said Senator Dick Durbin, who chaired the meeting in response.
“There isn’t a parent in this room who’s had a child…(who) hasn’t changed right in front of (their) eyes” because of an “emotional experience” on social media, he said.
Meanwhile, TikTok’s Chew said “as a father of three young children myself I know that the issues that we’re discussing today are horrific and the nightmare of every parent”.
“I intend to invest more than USD2 billion in trust and safety. This year alone, we have 40,000 safety professionals working on this topic,” Chew said.
