WASHINGTON: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the chief executives of X, TikTok, Discord and Snap face a grilling by US lawmakers on Wednesday (Jan 31) over the dangers that social media platforms bring to children and teens.
The tech chieftains have been convened by the US Senate Judiciary Committee where they will be asked about the effects of social media in a session titled Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis.
The hearing could be gruelling for executives confronting political anger for not doing enough to thwart online dangers for children, including from sexual predators.
“There are no tools to hold the company accountable. Instead, survivors and advocates are left to plead with these companies to choose safety over profit,” said US Senator Dick Durbin who heads the judiciary committee.
Testifying to senators will be Zuckerberg, X’s Linda Yaccarino, Shou Zi Chew of TikTok, Evan Spiegel of Snap and Discord’s Jason Citron.
“I’m proud of the work our teams have done to improve online child safety, not just on our services but across the entire internet,” Meta’s Zuckerberg will tell the committee, according to his prepared testimony seen by AFP.
Ahead of their testimony, Meta and X, formerly Twitter, announced new measures seeking to satisfy any political pushback.
Meta, which owns the world’s leading platforms Facebook and Instagram, said it would block direct messages sent to young teens by strangers.
By default, teens under age 16 can now only be messaged or added to group chats by people they already follow or are connected to.
Meta also tightened content restrictions for teens on Instagram and Facebook making it harder for them to view posts that discuss suicide, self-harm or eating disorders.
