(The Center Square) – The heads of five social media companies were grilled by Congress Wednesday about the risks their platforms pose to young people.
The CEOs of Meta, TikTok, Snap, X, formerly known as Twitter, and Discord testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. The room was full of parents who had lost children to suicide and blamed social media, many of whom held photographs of their child.
Illinois U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Springfield, the chair of the committee, has introduced legislation that would allow civil liability if a social media platform makes child sex abuse materials available.
“As early as 2017, law enforcement identified SnapChat as a pedophile’s go-to exploitation tool,” said Durbin.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, told Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg that he had “blood on his hands from a product that’s killing people.”
Zuckerberg defended the effects that Facebook and Instagram have on young people.
“Mental health is a complex issue, and the existing body of scientific work has not shown a link between using social media and young people having worse mental health outcomes,” said Zuckerberg.
When Zuckerberg was asked by U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, if he would like to apologize to victims harmed by his product, he turned around and faced the families.
“I’m sorry for everything you have all been through,” said Zuckerberg. “No one should go through the things that your families have suffered and this is why we invest so much and we are going to continue doing industry-wide efforts to make sure no one has to go through the things your families have had to suffer.”
Meta is being sued by dozens of states, including Illinois, that say it deliberately designs features that addict children to its platforms.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel also apologized to families whose children have died after they purchased drugs on Snapchat.
The hearing demonstrated how the criticism of social media companies has galvanized bipartisanship on Capitol Hill. In one instance, Graham noted that he has a different political philosophy from Durbin. However, he noted that they agree on the issues of how the platforms are affecting society.
“Senator Durbin and I have different political philosophies, but I appreciate what you’ve done on this committee,” said Graham. “You’ve been a great partner.”
