Senate Judiciary Hosts Tech Leaders to Discuss Child Protection
The Senate Judiciary Committee hosted a hearing on “Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis” featuring the CEOs of X (formerly known as Twitter), TikTok, Snap, Meta, and Discord. The CEOs were grilled on their efforts to identify and prevent child abuse online, although the hearing also involved a discussion on online drug distribution, child mental health, and parental oversight.
Senators questioned the witnesses on various legislative proposals to regulate social media companies, including subjecting the companies to liability for harms that occur through their platforms.
The witnesses included:
- Linda Yaccarino, Chief Executive Officer of X Corp.
- Shou Chew, Chief Executive Officer of TikTok Inc.
- Evan Spiegel, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Snap Inc.
- Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Meta
- Jason Citron, Chief Executive Officer of Discord Inc.
In November, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Ranking Member Lindsey Graham (R-SC) announced bipartisan efforts to get the CEOs to testify before the Committee. While some of the witnesses joined voluntarily, several of the CEOs had to be subpoenaed by the committee to compel their attendance at the hearing.
Overall, the social media companies defended their efforts to protect children online, noting various steps the companies have taken to identify and remove bad actors from their platforms. For example, Meta’s Zuckerberg outlined the company’s tools for allowing parents to limit content their children see and Snap’s Spiegel noted the proactively moderates content before it is widely distributed.
Lawmakers noted several bipartisan legislative initiatives that would further regulate the social media companies and requested companies express support for the bills. Among the bills the committee has unanimously approved include:
- The STOP CSAM Act, which supports victims and increases accountability and transparency for online platforms;
- The EARN IT Act, which removes tech’s blanket immunity from civil and criminal liability under child sexual abuse material laws and establishes a National Commission on Online Child Sexual Exploitation Prevention;
- The SHIELD Act, which ensures that federal prosecutors have appropriate and effective tools to address the nonconsensual distribution of sexual imagery;
- The Project Safe Childhood Act, which modernizes the investigation and prosecution of online child exploitation crimes; and,
- The REPORT Act, which combats the rise in online child sexual exploitation by establishing new measures to help strengthen reporting of those crimes to the CyberTipline.
When asked about these bills, the social media CEOs were hesitant to express support with several CEOs noting they supported the bills’ goals but could not support specific provisions that may limit innovation. One CEO–Spiegel from Snap–expressed support for the Cooper Davis Act, legislation that would establishes requirements for electronic communication service providers and remote computing service providers to report knowledge of various drug-related offenses.
Speigel noted that the company has already voluntarily adopted most of the policies called for in the bill. Snap’s primary product, Snap Chat, faced heavy criticism for the proliferation of dangerous drugs on its platform.
A key sticking point for lawmakers was the companies’ liability for harms that occur on their platform.
Under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, many online technology companies cannot be subject to liability for harms that occur on their platforms. As a result, many senators expressed concern that social media companies cannot be held adequately accountable for their actions.
“Stand behind your product. Go to the courtroom and defend your product… I am a republican who believes in free enterprise, but I also believe that every American who has been wronged has to have somebody to go to to complain,” Senator Graham said.
Several senators noted that Boeing had to ground some 700 planes following a recent safety scare on an Alaskan Airlines flight. Despite widespread concerns about CSAM, social media addiction, and drug proliferation on social media sites, there is no similar effort to force social media companies to take a step back and reassess their product’s safety.
The gallery of the senate hearing room was filled with families of those who have been impacted by online exploitation, with many families brining pictures of children who had died by suicide following online abuse or drug sales.
During an emotional moment, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MS) called on Meta’s CEO Zuckerberg to apologize to the families for the company’s failure to keep children safe online.
Zuckerberg stood and turned to the crowd and said, “I am sorry for everything you have all been through. No one should have to go through the things that your families have suffered, and that is why we invested so much and are going to continue doing industry-leading efforts to make sure that no one has to go through the types of things that your families have had to suffer.”