At the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings today, GOP Sen. Josh Hawley demanded that Mark Zuckerberg stand and face the families whose kids were harmed by online abuse — and he did. The Senate hearing was contentious, yet Zuckerberg stood and faced the families watching the hearing: “No one should have to go through the things that your families have suffered, and this is why we invested so much,” he said. Parents and other family members were holding up photos of their children as Zuckerberg spoke.
For the first time, five major social media platform giants were in Washington. CEOs of X, Snap, and Discord, Linda Yaccarino and Jason Citron, will testify before Congress. Speakers include Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, and Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok, who have both addressed lawmakers before.
It was reported that all of the CEOs exited the room quickly after the hearing
It was reported that all of the CEOs exited the room quickly and quietly after the hearing — taking no questions and leaving through a side door. But what type of legislation will it take to pass both houses of Congress? As pointed out, Washington has been discussing these issues for years with nothing done about it. One notable comment from Klobuchar, “It’s been 28 years since the internet. We haven’t passed any of these bills … The reason they haven’t passed is because of the power of your companies, so let’s be really, really clear about that what you say matters. Your words matter.” — Klobuchar, on the lack of legislation.
Zuckerberg pushed back on Sen. Blackburn’s comment about “Meta’s social media sites are trying to be “the premier sex trafficking site in the country.” Zuckerberg: “That’s ridiculous.”
However, Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt said, “There is a consensus today that didn’t exist, say 10 years ago, that there is a profound threat to children to mental health, to safety.” The statement gave hope to many in the room. After questioning the CEOs about layoffs, Welch noted that it is “alarming that the reductions have been on those very people who were protecting things (online).
