"Terrible," Zuckerberg Apologizes... US Congress Criticizes SNS for Neglecting Child Sexual Exploitation

Record High Reports of Child Sexual Exploitation Material on SNS
20 Million Reports Received on Facebook Alone
CEOs of Snapchat, TikTok, X, and Discord Also Attend

"You are making products that kill people with blood on your hands."

On the 31st (local time), the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the topic of "Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis." Lawmakers criticized the CEOs of social networking service (SNS) platforms for neglecting sexual exploitation of minors on their platforms.

On the 31st (local time), the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on children's safety online.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

At the hearing, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Instagram, Evan Spiegel of Snapchat, Shouzi Chew of TikTok, Linda Yaccarino of X (formerly Twitter), and Jason Citron of Discord appeared as witnesses.

In the audience, families of victims filled the seats with photos of their children. They condemned the SNS CEOs and applauded the lawmakers' criticisms.

After the hearing began, videos showing children being bullied on SNS were displayed on the screen, and stories of victims who were extorted by sexual offenders and took their own lives were shared. According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), reports of child sexual exploitation material on online platforms reached a record high of about 36 million last year. Of these, more than 20 million reports were filed on Facebook alone.

Senator Lindsey Graham opened the session by saying, "The CEOs appearing here have blood on their hands and are making products that kill people." He added, "SNS has both bright and dark sides."

Senator Ted Cruz criticized, "Instagram plays no role in protecting children from obscene content." Senator John Kennedy questioned, "Has Meta become a killing field that induces users' confirmation bias and obscures the truth?"

Senator Marsha Blackburn criticized an internal Meta document estimating the lifetime value of teenage users at $270. She said, "You do not prioritize children," and accused them of "treating children as mere commodities."

Senator Josh Hawley asked Zuckerberg, "Do you have any intention to apologize to the victims harmed by your products?"

Zuckerberg responded by saying, "It's terrible," and "I am sorry for everything you have been through," bowing to the families of the victims. He continued, "No one should have to go through what your families have experienced, and that is why we invest heavily," adding, "We will continue to work to prevent the tragedies your families have endured from happening again."

He also proposed legislation to Congress that would require Apple and Google to verify user age to confirm whether they are minors.

Snap CEO Spiegel also apologized to the families, saying, "I am very sorry we could not prevent such tragedies." TikTok CEO Shouzi Chew announced, "This year, we will invest $2 billion globally in children's safety and protection."

X CEO Linda Yaccarino expressed support for the bipartisan 'STOP CSAM Act,' which is being promoted legislatively. This bill would make it easier for victims to sue SNS companies or request the removal of child sexual exploitation materials.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.