The US Senate announced that the CEOs of Meta and X (formerly Twitter) would be questioned.
“Tik Tok”, “Snap”, and “Discore”; Due to accusations related to them threatening the safety of children online.
An official statement from the US Congress explained that the heads of the most famous social media companies in the world will testify regarding accusations of the negative impact of their sites on the mental health of children and youth.
Meta Response
The officials will testify before the Congressional Judiciary Committee, according to a statement issued by Senator Dick Durbin, Chairman of the Committee, while Mark Zuckerberg, President of Meta, and Zi Qiu, President of TikTok, confirmed their willingness to participate.
While the presidents of X, Snap, and Discord refused to attend and decided to send their executives, after sending an official memorandum.
Senators expressed a feeling of hypocrisy towards these platforms that want to have a say in politics, but struggle against participating in discussions.
“When we held our first hearing on child online protection with experts and advocates earlier this year, big tech companies complained they weren’t invited,” Durbin and Graham said. “We promised them their time would come.”
They continued, saying: “We have known from the beginning that our efforts to protect children online would be met with hesitation from the big tech companies. They have finally been forced to admit their failure when it comes to protecting children, and now that all five companies have cooperated, we are looking at concrete action from the chiefs.” These companies.
The Judiciary Committee focused on the issue frequently throughout the year, approving bills that would force online platforms to take more responsibility in protecting children, be more transparent in their efforts, and improve reporting of online child sexual exploitation.
The hearing with the CEOs of the five technology giants was first scheduled for next December, but will now be held on January 31, 2024.
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