Meta’s Zuckerberg apologizes to American families: Here’s why

Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologized to families during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the online safety of America’s children. Zuckerberg apologized as Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) urged Zuckerberg to apologize to families attending the hearing and call attention to children who are targeted by predators online.

“I’m sorry for what you’ve been through,” he told family members attending the hearing Wednesday night.

“No one should have to go through what your family has suffered, which is why we have invested so much and we will continue to work across the industry to make sure no one has to go through what your family has suffered,” added the Meta CEO.

At the hearing, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said 20 million teenagers in the United States use Snapchat and about 200,000 parents use its Family Center monitoring controls.

He also revealed that approximately 400,000 teen accounts have been linked to parent accounts through Family Center, TechCrunch reported. Snapchat’s Family Center allows parents to see who their kids are friends with on the app and who they’ve been communicating with.

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., asked the CEOs of Snap, Meta, TikTok, X and Discord to disclose how many minors are using their platforms. Zuckerberg said he couldn’t provide specific numbers but said the company ran an “extensive advertising campaign” to raise awareness of its parental oversight tools.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said he could not reveal specific details but that TikTok was “one of the first platforms to give parents regulatory control.” Discord CEO Jason Citron said Discord increases awareness of parental controls through promotional videos and in-app tips.

The United States is considering the Children’s Online Safety Act (KOSA), which would require social platforms to take further steps to protect children online.

(This article has not been edited by News18 staff and is published by IANS, the associated news agency)