'A moment of reckoning': Senate hearing on sexual exploitation on social media comes to a close
After five tech executives faced four hours of intensive questioning from Congress members, the Senate judiciary hearing on “Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis” has come to an end.
Executives in attendance were Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, Linda Yaccarino of X (formerly Twitter), Shou Zi Chew of TikTok, Evan Spiegel of Snap, and Jason Citron of Discord.
In closing statements, Senate chair Dick Durbin called for meaningful bipartisan legislation to address the “crisis” of childhood sexual exploitation online.
“Businesses exist by and large to be profitable, and I think we have to get behind that and say, ‘profitability at what cost?’” he said.
Here are the key events from the day:
Parents of children who died by suicide after experiencing online harms packed the Senate for the hearing on Wednesday. Senator Lindsey Graham said the event drew “the largest [audience] I’ve seen in this room”. Opening statements in the hearing included voices of children and parents of children affected.
In opening statements, executives enumerated tools on their platforms meant to protect children and give parents more control over the user experience. Senators challenged these assertions in their questioning, stating that the measures are ineffective and insufficient.
In his first remarks, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg cast doubt on the relationship between social media use and a decline in mental health. “The existing body of scientific work has not shown a causal link between using social media and young people having worse mental health,” he said.
Senators repeatedly targeted Section 230, a legal protection that shields social media firms from liability for content posted on their platforms. They promoted a number of bills that would take aim at these protections, including the Kids Online Safety Act (Kosa).
X, formerly Twitter, became the first tech firm to publicly endorse the Stop CSAM Act, a bill introduced by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) that would remove legal immunity for civil claims against internet companies over child sex abuse material. CEO Linda Yaccarino also announced support of Kosa, joining Snapchat parent company Snap.
Zuckerberg apologized directly to families of online harm victims in Senate hearing, standing from his seat and turning to a crowd holding photos of children who have died by suicide after experiencing online harms. “I’m sorry for everything you have all been through,” he said.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel also apologized to families, though he did not turn to face them as Zuckerberg did. In response to questions about children who have died from drugs bought on Snapchat, he said: “I’m so sorry that we have not been able to prevent these tragedies. We work very hard to block all search terms related to drugs on our platform”.
Updated
The Guardian view on online child protection: the web needs more health and safety
