Meta Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Zuckerberg apologized to affected parents during a US Congressional hearing on the harm to children’s mental health online.
On this day, parents came to the Senate floor with pictures of their children who died due to sexual abuse or harassment on social media.
“I’m sorry for what you’ve been through,” Zuckerberg said. The loss your family has suffered should not have happened like this. And that’s why we invest so much. May this not happen to anyone else. And for this we will continue to try.
Zuckerberg is one of five executives being questioned in a congressional hearing Wednesday on “Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis.” Also in attendance were X’s Linda Iaccarino, TikTok’s Show Ji Chiu, Snap’s Evan Spiegel, and Discord’s Jason Citron.
US lawmakers say big tech companies aren’t doing enough to protect children from online sexual harassment. They want stricter laws. At the same time, the US representatives want an explanation from the executives about the steps taken so far.
A statement from the US Senate Judiciary Committee said the hearing was called to investigate allegations of online child sexual abuse or harassment.
