WASHINGTON: U.S. senators grilled the largest social media and communications companies on Wednesday, saying they were not doing enough to protect children from sexual predators on their platforms and said Congress must pass legislation quickly.

The hearing marks the latest effort by lawmakers to address concerns from parents and mental health experts that social media companies prioritize profits over ensuring their platforms don’t harm children.

“Mr. Zuckerberg, you and our previous companies, I know you didn’t mean it, but you have blood on your hands,” Senator Lindsey Graham said of Meta CEO Mark Zucker Berg said. “Your product kills people.”

Zuckerberg testified alongside X CEO Linda Yaccarino, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew and Discord CEO Jason Citron.

Sen. Dick Durbin, the Democratic chairman of the Judiciary Committee, cited statistics from the nonprofit National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that show predators lure minors into sending sexually explicit photos and videos financially “sexually.” “Extortion” behavior surged last year.

“The disturbing increase in child sexual exploitation is driven by one thing: changes in technology,” Durbin said during the hearing.

At the start of the hearing, the committee played a video in which children recounted being victimized on social media platforms.

“I was sexually exploited on Facebook,” said one child, who appears in shadow in the video.

In the hearing room, dozens of parents stood with photos of their children waiting for the CEOs to enter.

X’s Yaccarino said the company supports the STOP CSAM Act, a bill introduced by Durbin that would hold tech companies accountable for child sexual abuse material and allow victims to sue tech platforms and app stores.

The bill is one of several aimed at addressing child safety concerns. None became law.

X (formerly Twitter) has been heavily criticized since Elon Musk acquired the platform and relaxed its moderation policies. This week, the company blocked searches for pop star Taylor Swift after fake pornographic images of her spread on the platform.

Wednesday also marked TikTok CEO Chew’s first appearance before U.S. lawmakers since March, when the Chinese short-video app faced tough questions, including from some who believed the app was harming children’s mental health.

“We have made careful product design choices to help make our app unsuitable for those seeking to harm young people,” Chew said, adding that TikTok’s Community Guidelines strictly prohibit anything that puts “young people at risk of exploitation or other harm.” behavior – we will vigorously enforce these guidelines.”

Chew revealed that more than 170 million Americans use TikTok every month, 20 million more than the company said last year.

Under questioning from Graham, he said TikTok would spend more than $2 billion on trust and safety, but declined to say how that number compared to the company’s overall revenue.

Senator Ted Cruz grilled Zuckerberg about warning screens on Instagram that warn users an image may show child sexual abuse but still allow them to see the image.

“Mr. Zuckerberg, what on earth are you thinking about?” Cruz said.

Zuckerberg responded that redirecting users to resources rather than blocking content could be helpful, adding that the company would follow up with more information about the notification.

He reiterated earlier in the hearing that the company had no plans to move forward with its previous idea of ​​creating a children’s version of Instagram.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar on Wednesday questioned what she called the tech industry’s inaction, comparing it to its response when a Boeing plane panel exploded earlier this month.

“A few weeks ago, no one questioned the decision to ground the fleet when a Boeing plane lost a door in flight… So why don’t we be equally decisive about the dangers of these platforms when we know these kids are dying? Where’s the action? ?” Klobuchar said.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a Yonhap news agency feed – Reuters)