The bosses of Facebook (Meta), X (formerly Twitter) and Tik Tok were summoned before a parliamentary committee of the American Senate in the face of the abuses observed in recent years.
Shocking content, sexual exploitation, online harassment, suicide prevention… Social networks are criticized around the world for their harmful impact on young people.
Faced with these well-documented abuses, the American Senate organized a hearing to which the main leaders of digital platforms were summoned.
When the Facebook creator spoke on Wednesday, Mark Zuckerberg apologized again after hearing testimony from victims’ families.
“I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through.”, declared the boss of Meta on Wednesday. “No one should have to go through what you and your families have endured.”
This is not the first time he has made a public apology in this way. With each scandal involving his company, the CEO of Meta has often made his mea culpa. A tactic that contrasts with the positioning of its competitors.
But Mark Zuckerberg especially justified himself by highlighting Meta’s continued investments in his company’s efforts to protect children.
Here’s what a Republican senator replied: “Mr. Zuckerberg, you and the companies before us, I know you don’t think so, but you have blood on your hands. You have a product that is killing people,” Lindsey Graham said.
Mark Zuckerberg expanded on the numerous measures taken by his group to protect young people, recalling having invested more than 20 billion dollars in security since 2016 and employing 40,000 people dedicated to moderation and security on the platforms.
“We work hard to provide parents and teenagers with the support and the tools needed to reduce risks” while recognizing that the fight was permanent “to develop our defenses”he added.
“As a father of three young children, I know that the issues discussed today are horrific and fuel every parent’s nightmaressaid Shou Zi Chew, the head of TikTok. “I intend to invest more than $2 billion in security. This year alone we have 40,000 professionals working on this topic.”
X will for its part create a new antenna dedicated to platform moderationwhich will recruit around a hundred people to primarily fight against this scourge, according to a press release published Friday.
“X is not the platform of choice for children and adolescents”recalled Linda Yaccarino, the boss of X.
As for Facebook, the senators have in their hands internal documents from the social media giant which prove that Mark Zuckerberg refused to strengthen the teams responsible for identifying risks for adolescents. “The level of hypocrisy is staggering”judged Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal.
In the United States, these documents are part of the complaint filed by around forty states at the end of October. The latter believe that Meta harms the “mental and physical health of youth”citing the risks of addiction, cyber-harassment or eating disorders.
At this stage, American law largely protects digital platforms from any legal liability regarding content shared on their site.
Many elected officials now want to reverse this trend but new laws have been blocked by a Congress sharply divided on solutions and by powerful lobbying from big tech companies.
One of the existing legislative proposals is the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which aims to protect children from algorithms that can trigger anxiety or depression. Another idea would be to require social media platforms to verify the age of network members and completely ban access to children under 13.
“I don’t think you’re going to solve the problem. Congress will have to help you.”Senator John Neely Kennedy told the leaders.
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