‘Families have suffered;’ Parents, lawmakers question tech leaders about protecting children online
Lawmakers in DC are grilling leaders of the biggest social media companies, accusing them of not doing enough to protect children online.
Dozens of parents filled the room today, holding photos of their children. Many of them blame social media for their deaths, and they stood just feet away from the leaders who run those companies.
“X has zero tolerance toward any material that features or promotes child sexual exploitation,” the CEO of X, formerly known as Twitter, Linda Yaccarino said.
>> ‘Senseless act;’ Police chief speaks out on shooting death of security guard, former officer
“as criminals evolve their tactics, we have to evolve our defenses too,” Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said.
The leaders of Discord, Meta, Snap, TikTok, and X defended their company’s policies for protecting children from sexual exploitation.
“[Discord] helps youth people easily report unwelcomed conversations,” Discord CEO, Jason Citron said.
>> ‘General ramblings of complete nonsense;’ Woman calls 911 nearly 1,000 times in just 10 days
“We typically respond to those reports within 15 minutes,” Snap Co-founder and CEO said.
“Our robust community guidelines strictly prohibit content or behavior that puts teens at risk,” TikTok CEO Shou Chew said.
Behind all these company leaders sat parents who said their children died because of harmful interactions on these platforms.
>> Church, city, retirement home sued over opposition to Sheetz development in Centerville
“I’m going to stand here and try to hold all these adults accountable. And I will until my last breath,” Fred Walters said.
Lawmakers put these leaders on the spot.
“Show him the pictures. Would you like to apologize for what you’ve done to these good people?” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) said.
>> ‘This is ridiculous;’ Man caught on video putting cat into bag, slamming it to ground in Butler Co.
Mark Zuckerberg addresses the parents directly at one point during the hearing.
“Your families have suffered and this why we’ve invested so much so no one has to go through the time of things your families have had to [inaudible],” Zuckerberg said.
Lawmakers held this hearing amid concerns about the apps being used by sex offenders to target children and exchange explicit material.
>> Double murder suspect wanted by U.S. Marshals possibly spotted in Dayton; reward offered
“But the tech industry alone is not to blame for the situation we’re in. Those of us in Congress need to look in the mirror,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) said.
Several of the companies say they limit who can interact with younger users and offer various parental controls. They also said they want to work with Congress to address these issues, and some tech leaders even had suggestions for possible legislation.
“At least Apple already requires parental consent when a child does a payment with an app so it should be pretty trivial to pass a law that requires them to make it so that parents have control any time a child downloads an app,” Zuckerberg said.
Lawmakers are working on five proposals to improve online safety for kids. One Proposal requires social media platforms to report crimes involving trafficking and enticement of children.
