Meta is “the largest sex trafficking organization in the world,” said the senator. “That’s ridiculous,” Zuckerberg responded. But he apologized to the families

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Relatives of people who died or were victims of abuse due to Facebook (and other Meta networks) went to the US Senate. And Big Tech leaders were also

Mark Zuckerberg stood up, turned to the audience in the US Congress and began to speak: “I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through,” said the CEO of Meta while addressing family members of young victims of online abuse, some of whom ended up committing suicide. “No one should have to suffer what your families suffered. That’s why we’ve invested so much and will continue to strive to ensure that no one has to go through these types of things.”

The apology took place this Wednesday during the hearing of executives from five large social media companies regarding alleged harm caused by their platforms to young users. The hearing, titled “Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis,” aimed to “examine and investigate the plague of online child sexual exploitation,” according to a statement from the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Present are executive directors Mark Zuckerberg, from Meta, Linda Yaccarino, from X (formerly Twitter), Shou Zi Chew, from TikTok, Evan Spiegel, from Snap, and Jason Citron, from Discord.

During an intense grilling of Mark Zuckerberg, Republican Senator Josh Hawley asked Meta’s executive director if he would like to apologize to the families of victims who were sitting in the audience, many of whom were shown photographs of children who have died or been victims of abuse. because of that platform. It was then that he made his apology.

In his opening statements, Zuckerberg had explained that Meta (owner of Facebook and Instagram) has introduced more than 30 security tools in the last eight years, including controls that allow parents to set time limits on app use and see who uses them. your children follow and interact with online. She also assured that Meta has spent 20 billion dollars on safety and security since 2016 and employs around 40 thousand people to deal with these issues. “We build technologies to tackle the worst online risks and share them to help the entire industry improve.”

Senator Ted Cruz was one of those who criticized Meta’s rules, since if users search Instagram for hashtags related to child sexual abuse (CSAM Child Sexual Abuse Material), the platform warns them that such content may be illegal. but it gives them the option to click and see it. In the same line of accusation, Senator Marsha Blackburn asked why intentionally predatory content does not violate the standards of the Meta platform and called it “the largest sex trafficking organization in the world”. Zuckerberg responded that “that’s ridiculous.”

Relatives of victims of abuse and online violence show photographs of young people who died in the US Congress (AP)

Senator Josh Hawley attacked Mark Zuckerberg for saying that there is no scientific evidence that social media has widespread impacts on mental health. “I know people talk about this a lot as if it’s something that’s already been proven, and I think most of the scientific evidence doesn’t show that,” said the Meta CEO. Hawley cited an internal Meta investigation that showed that Instagram worsened body image issues for one in three girls. Another Facebook study of teenagers in the UK and US found that more than 40% of Instagram users who said they felt “unattractive” said the feeling began during the use of the application.

But on issues related to sexual abuse, everyone was in agreement. “All of us here on this panel today, across the technology industry, have a solemn and urgent responsibility to ensure that everyone using our platforms is protected from these criminals, both online and offline,” Discord’s Jason Citron said in the their opening statements.

“Keeping kids safe online requires a collaborative effort as well as collective action,” said Shou Zi Chew of TikTok. “We share the community’s concern and commitment to protecting young people online. We welcome the opportunity to work with you on legislation to achieve this goal.”

In her opening statements before Congress, X CEO Linda Yaccarino said the company supports the Stop CSAM Act, a bill introduced by Senator Dick Durbin that would remove legal immunity for civil lawsuits against Internet companies for sexual abuse childish. “It is my personal commitment that X will be part of this solution,” Yaccarino said. “OX believes that freedom of expression and platform security can and should coexist. We agree that now is the time to act urgently.” Durbin thanked him for being the “first social media company” to publicly support the law.

In a speech on Tuesday, Senator Dick Durbin had explained that combating the dangers children face online had been one of his “top priorities” as chairman of the committee and said he planned to ask executives “what they are doing to make their platforms inaccessible to child sex offenders”. “Just last week some released new child safety measures that should have been taken a long time ago, but it shouldn’t take a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee to finally get these companies to prioritize child safety,” he said. . “As these changes are, at best, half measures, I welcome the opportunity to ask them about what else needs to be done.”

In closing statements, after four hours of hearings, Durby concluded that America has reached “a moment of reckoning” regarding the unbridled power of Big Tech and that legislation must be passed to control them. “As parents and grandparents, we know what their daughters, sons and other people are going through,” he said. “They can’t deal with this problem alone. They count on us, as much as they count on the industry, to do what’s necessary. necessary.”