Big Tech CEOs testify at US Senate hearing over online child sexual abuse and exploitation

The US Senate Judiciary Committee held the ‘Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Abuse Exploitation Crisis‘ hearing where five CEOs, from Meta (Mark Zuckerberg), X (Linda Yaccarino), TikTok (Shou Chew), Snap (Evan Spiegel) and Discord (Jason Citron), testified before the Congress over accusations of failing to protect children from sexual exploitation online.

Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg was in the spotlight, as it was the eighth time facing accusations of failing to protect children online on Instagram and Facebook. The company has been facing allegations that it profited from corporate ads placed next to content that promoted child sexual exploitation. In April 2023, an investigation conducted by the Guardian showed that Meta failed to prevent criminals from using its platforms for the trafficking of children for sexual exploitation. 

Senator Lindsey Graham accused Mark Zuckerberg and the other CEOs of Big Tech of bearing responsibility for the deaths of teenagers who committed suicide after being sexually exploited or having encountered harmful content on their platforms. Namely, Senator Graham stated:

“Mr Zuckerberg, you and the companies before us, I know you don’t mean it to be so, but you have blood on your hands.” 

The hearing also has had US Senators highlight the need to ensure effective legislation enforcement on the platforms’ liability. 

During the hearing, X CEO Linda Yaccarino was the first Big Tech CEO to support the amended  Strengthening Transparency and Obligations to Protect Children Suffering from Abuse and Mistreatment Act of 2023 (STOP CSAM Act) introduced by the US Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL). Essentially, the amended STOP CSAM, also known as the Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, aims to increase the accountability and transparency of online platforms and allow victims to sue the platforms for CSAM content posted by third parties. At the same time, the rest of the Big Tech CEOs remained silent.

Another act brought in the hearing was the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which aimed to prevent platforms from recommending harmful content. Meta, Discord, and TikTok CEOs stated that they supported some provisions but not the whole act. Mark Zuckerberg claimed that it would be better to redirect users to resources rather than blocking content. On the other hand, Snap and X CEOs were supportive of the implementation of KOSA.

The pressure now is on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to schedule votes on the legislation discussed during the hearing, which seeks to minimize online harm against children. Meaning that the outcome of this hearing could set a new precedent on the liability of social media platforms where victims could directly sue them.