During a Senate hearing on Wednesday (January 31), a senator accused Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg of inadvertently creating a "killer product." Zuckerberg subsequently apologized to parents whose children were affected by the company's online platform.
"I'm sorry for everything everyone has been through," Zuckerberg told parents at the hearing, some of whom held up photos of their children. "No one should have to go through what your families have had to endure."
Mark Zuckerberg at a US Senate hearing on January 31, 2024. Photo: DW
This is a session titled "Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis," where the US Senate Judiciary Committee convened tech executives such as TikTok CEO Zuckerberg, TikTok CEO Chouzi Chew, Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel, Discord CEO Jason Citron, and X social media CEO Linda Yaccarino to discuss the issue of the same name.
In his opening remarks at the session, U.S. Senate Committee Chairman Dick Durbin stated that technology companies must be held accountable for the many dangers children face online.
"Design choices and companies' failure to build trust and safety, relentlessly pursuing users and profits despite basic safety regulations, put our children at risk," he said.
Meanwhile, Senator Lindsey Graham said: "Mr. Zuckerberg, I know you didn't mean it that way, but you have blood on your hands. You have a product that is killing people."
Senator Lindsey told CEO Zuckerberg that Meta was creating a "killer product." (Photo: UPI Photo)
Zuckerberg told lawmakers that keeping children safe online has been a challenge since the internet first emerged. "Criminals evolve their tactics, and we have to evolve our defenses too," the Meta CEO said.
The tech billionaire added that research shows that, in moderation, social media does not harm the mental health of young people.
TikTok CEO Chouzi Chew said, "As a father of three young children myself, I know that the issues we are discussing today are terrible and every parent's nightmare."
He revealed plans to invest over $2 billion in building trust and safety on his social media platform. Chew stated, "This year alone, we have 40,000 safety professionals working on this topic."
Meta also stated that its 40,000 employees work on online safety and that $20 billion has been invested since 2016 to help make the platform more secure.
Meanwhile, at the heart of the meeting, Meta, the company that owns the world's leading platforms Facebook and Instagram, announced it would block direct messages from strangers to teenagers.
Meta also tightened content restrictions for teenagers on Instagram and Facebook. This made it more difficult for teenagers to access posts discussing suicide, self-harm, or eating disorders.
Hoai Phuong (according to AP, AFP, DW)
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