Meta, TikTok And Other Tech CEOs Face Senate Grilling Over Online Child Exploitation “Crisis In America”

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, X CEO Linda Yaccarino and other tech industry leaders faced a grilling from lawmakers today as they appeared for a Senate hearing on the online exploitation of children.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) blamed the tech platforms at the outset for allowing the exploitation to proliferate, while dismissing the latest efforts the companies have taken to boost safety.

“They are responsible for many of the dangers our children face online,” Durbin said, calling it a “crisis in America.”

“You have blood on your hands. You have a product that is killing people,” said the top Republican on the committee, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), told Zuckerberg, as he sat at the witness table.

He called for the repeal of Section 230, the provision of a 1996 law that shielded platforms from liability for the third party content posted on their sites.

Also appearing at the hearing was the CEO of TikTok, Shou Chew; Snap co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel; and Discord CEO Jason Citron.

Durbin said that Zuckerberg and Chew were appearing at the hearing voluntarily, while the others attended after being subpoenaed.