In Fiery Senate Tech Hearing, CEOs Grilled Over Child Safety and Accountability

In one of the most tumultuous tech hearings in recent years, Senators from both parties refused to back down, pressing CEOs of Meta, Ex, TikTok, Discord, and Snap to take responsibility and apologize for their companies’ roles in harming children.

At times, Senators shouted and spoke forcefully to the CEOs, prompting applause from those in the room, including children. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told the company heads, “Your hands are covered in blood.”

While executives from Ex, Snap, and Discord were present, most of the criticism from Senators was directed at Mark Zuckerberg and Shao regarding the numerous incidents of violations on Instagram and TikTok platforms.

Both Evan Spiegel, the CEO of Snap, and Linda Yaccarino, who leads Ex, expressed support for the proposed Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). The proposed law would require social media networks, video game websites, and messaging apps to take “reasonable measures” to prevent harm, including online bullying, harassment, sexual exploitation, appetite loss disorders, self-harm, and harmful marketing, for minors using their platforms.

Zuckerberg, Chi, and Jason Citron did not commit to supporting the law, with some arguing that while the law could be directly beneficial, it contains some broad restrictions that may conflict with issues of freedom of expression.