Child exploitation concerns: 'I'm sorry', Zuckerberg apologise to families in fiery Senate hearing
Zuckerberg, in a rare move, apologised to families, acknowledging the harm caused to their children and stating that 'no one should go through' such experiences.
SHAH ALAM - Meta Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Zuckerberg faced an intense backlash during a Senate hearing where he and other social media executives were accused of having ‘blood on their hands’ for not adequately protecting children from online exploitation.
Senators in the US Senate hearing grilled Zuckerberg about the lack of safeguards on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snap, X, and Discord, emphasising concerns about sexual predators, eating disorder content, unrealistic beauty standards, and bullying affecting children.
Parents in the room held pictures of their deceased children, all victims of online harms.
The hearing unfolded with heart-wrenching stories including a video featuring children sharing their experiences of victimisation on social media, and senators recounted tragic stories of young lives lost due to extortion after sharing photos with sexual predators.
Senator Lindsey Graham directly addressed Zuckerberg, stating, "Mr Zuckerberg, you and the companies before us, I know you don't mean it to be so, but you have blood on your hands."
The discussion also highlighted Instagram, operated by Meta, as it was criticised for a feature that alerted users to potentially explicit content but allowed them to view it anyway.
Zuckerberg defended his position, suggesting that redirecting users to resources might be more helpful than outright content blocking.
He reiterated Meta's commitment to blocking harmful content for under-18s and sharing resources from mental health charities when users express struggles with self-harm or eating disorders.
The hearing further exposed the issue of "financial sextortion," where criminals tricked children into sending explicit videos, threatening to release them unless they paid money.
Lawmakers expressed bipartisan support for bills aimed at preventing online abuse and slam the executives for prioritising engagement and profit over user safety.
The session began with a reel of victims and parents sharing tragic experiences, stressing the failure of "Big Tech" to protect them.
Zuckerberg, in a rare move, apologised to families, acknowledging the harm caused to their children and stating that 'no one should go through' such experiences.
"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," he said.
