CEOs of Social Media Platforms Before Senate

CEOs from large tech firms Meta, TikTok, X, Snap and Discord went before the Senate to discuss the impacts of social media on children and youth.

The hearing is a result of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) gaining momentum. The proposed bipartisan legislation would require that platforms give more control to parents and apply stricter privacy settings for teens. There are also proposals to restrict teens from accessing content deemed harmful. However, the definition of what is harmful is still up for debate.

Family members of children harmed by social media were present, which gave the hearing an “unprecedented sense of urgency.” Both lawmakers and family members questioned the CEOs regarding their practices and protections for teens, at times forcefully.

At one point, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stood and apologized directly to the families present in the room.

“I’m sorry for everything you have all been through,” Zuckerberg said. “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 recently introduced new features to help protect young users.

Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap, also apologized to the families who lost their children to drugs they purchased using Snapchat. “I’m so sorry that we have not been able to prevent these tragedies,” Spiegel said. He wrapped up his apology with details on how Snap is working and investing to protect child and teen users.

TikTok CEO Shou Chew was questioned beyond child protection and was asked again about TikTok’s ties to China through its parent company ByteDance.

The outcome of the hearing is unclear, and while members of both political parties criticize how tech companies are handling youth accounts, they have not yet been able to put any meaningful legislation or regulations in place.

Senator Lindsey Graham went as far as to declare, “Until these people can be sued for the damage they’re doing, it is all talk.”