The CEOs of several large social media companies, including Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, were grilled by the Senate Judiciary Committee in an emotional hearing about online child safety. The chief executives of Meta, TikTok, Snap, Discord, and X, formerly known as Twitter, were all present during the hearing, which took a look at the dangers of social media to children and the lack of protections against them.

The public, including senators and parents, has been growing increasingly concerned about the effects of social media on the lives of children and teens. Several kids who were exploited on social media, as well as parents of those who were exploited on social media, were present during the US Senate hearing.

"They're responsible for many of the dangers our children face online," said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin during the opening remarks. "Their design choices, their failures to adequately invest in trust and safety, their constant pursuit of engagement and profit over basic safety have all put our kids and grandkids at risk."

According to the Associated Press, there was a very tense and heated exchange between Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley and Mark Zuckerberg when he asked the Meta CEO if he had personally compensated any of the victims and their families for what they have been through. Zuckerberg answered that he did not think so.

"There's families of victims here," Hawley told him. "Would you like to apologize to them?"

As this was happening, parents attending the hearing rose and held up pictures of their children. This made the Meta CEO stand as well and addressed them directly, turning away from the senators.

"I'm sorry for everything you have all been through. No one should go through the things that your families have suffered," he told them, adding that his company is continuing to invest and work on "industry-wide efforts" to protect children.

READ MORE: X Users Are Threatening To Leave Platform After Elon Musk Teased Paywall

Democrats and Republicans Unite in Blasting Social Media Companies in Child Safety Hearing

These days, bipartisanship is rare, though Senators finally showed they could actually work together on child safety as both Democrats and Republicans grilled and blasted the social media CEOs together during the hearing and thought of solutions that could help protect children.

Even one of the most contentious senators on Capitol Hill, Republican Lindsey Graham, a staunch Donald Trump ally, says he finds himself agreeing with Democrats like Elizabeth Warren and Dick Durbin on the issues of how tech is affecting society.

California Democrat Sen. Laphonza Butler asked the social media CEOs if they had ever met with parents about design changes that their respective platforms could implement to protect children. All the CEOs claimed they did. However, when Zuckerberg was about to answer, Butler stopped him and told him that he spoke differently when they spoke last Tuesday. The Meta CEO responded by saying he must have misspoken.

Snap CEO Also Apologizes During Senate Social Media Hearing on Child Safety

It was not just Mark Zuckerberg who apologized to the parents in front of the Senate, but also Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. His social media platform, Snapchat, was where many children bought fake fentanyl and other drugs that caused the deaths of many.

"I'm so sorry that we have not been able to prevent these tragedies," he said, adding that Snap is now taking efforts the company takes to protect young users, according to CNN.

READ MORE: X: Hateful Tweets Are on the Rise, but Elon Musk Wants To Sue the Researchers Who Found Out

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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