US Senators Ask For Quick Actions Against Threats Of Child Sexual Exploitation On Social Media

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham is questioning social media leaders. (photo: x @LindseyGrahamSC ·)

JAKARTA The US senators on Wednesday, January 31 interrogated the leaders of the largest social media companies and said Congress should immediately certify legislation. Bahlan, a member of the legislature, accused the companies of having "blood in their hands" for failing to protect children from the threat of sexual predation escalation on their platforms.

The meeting marks the latest efforts by policymakers to address the concerns of parents and mental health experts that social media companies prioritize profit over security that will ensure their platform does not harm children.

"Mr. Zuckerberg, you and the companies in front of us, I know you don't mean that, but you have blood in your hands," said Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, referring to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. "You have a product that kills people."

Zuckerberg testified together with X CEO Linda Yaccarino, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, and Discord CEO Jason Citron.

Senator Dick Durbin, chairman of the Democratic Judicial Committee, cited statistics from the nonprofit group National Center for Missing and Exploited Children showing skyrocketing growth in financial "sextortion", in which a predator outwits a minor to send explicit photos and videos.

We live in an America in 2024 where there is no regulatory body dealing with the most profitable, biggest companies in the world.They can’t be sued-and there is not one meaningful law on the books to protect that American consumer.It’s high time for a change. pic.twitter.com/iwEH8V4SJv

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 31, 2024

We live in an America in 2024 where there is no regulatory body dealing with the most profitable, biggest companies in the world. They can't be sued-and there is not one meansful law on the books to protect that American consumer. It's high time for a change. pic.twitter.com/iWEH8V4SJv

"A disruptive growth in child sexual exploitation is driven by one thing: changes in technology," Durbin said during the meeting.

When the meeting started, the committee played a video where children spoke because they were victims on social media.

"I was sexually exploited on Facebook," said a child in the video, which appears in the shadow.

In the meeting room, dozens of parents held pictures of their children who, they said, had been harmed by social media. Some parents ridiculed Zuckerberg, whose companies owned Facebook and Instagram, during his opening statement and shouted at other points during the meeting.

At one point, Senator Josh Hawley challenged Zuckerberg to apologize to them in person, and several people were holding pictures of the children again when Zuckerberg turned to greet him.

Zuckerberg expressed regret for what they experienced and promised to work to prevent it from happening to others, but did not want to take responsibility for facilitating abuse, as Hawley proposed.

In a tense debate, the committee featured a copy of an internal email showing Zuckerberg rejecting Meta's top policy executive request to hire between 45 and 84 engineers to work on increased security.

Yaccarino of X said the company supports the STOP CSAM Act, the legislature introduced by Durbin, which aims to affirm the tech company's responsibility for child sexual violence material and will allow victims to sue technology platforms and app stores.

The bill is one of several aimed at overcoming child safety. None of them became law.

X, formerly Twitter, has come under very harsh criticism since Elon Musk bought the service and relaxed moderation policies. This week, it blocked the search for pop singer Taylor Swift after fake images showing her sexual presence spreading on the platform.

The Wednesday also marked TikTok's first look at US policymakers since March when the short video app company owned by China was faced with tough questions, including some showing that the app was damaging to children's mental health.

Chew reveals more than 170 million Americans use TikTok every month, 20 million more than the company said last year.

In a check by Graham, he said TikTok would spend more than $2 billion on trust and security efforts, but declined to say how the figure compares to the company's overall revenue.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz pressured Zuckerberg about a warning screen on Instagram informing users that the image may indicate child sexual violence, but still allow them to see the image.

"Mr. Zuckerberg, what do you think?" said Cruz.

Zuckerberg replied that it could help shift users to resources rather than block content, adding that the company would follow with more information about the notification.

Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar questioned what she said was a power in the tech industry, comparing it to the response shown when a panel was detached from Boeing's aircraft earlier this month.

"When the Boeing plane lost its doors on a flight a few weeks ago, no one questioned the decision to stop the fleet... So why don't we take the same firm action against the dangers of this platform when we find out these children are dead?" said Klobuchar.