A group of social media bigwigs is set to be grilled by Congress on Wednesday about the risks their products pose to young people — yet again. The chief executives of Meta, TikTok, Snap, Discord and X, formerly known as Twitter, will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee starting at 10am ET.
Congress has done little to rein in the industry in recent years, even as consumer groups say social media puts young users at risk of everything from depression to bullying to sexual abuse. But lawmakers now cite a growing procession of whistleblowers, consumer lawsuits and new state legislation around the country to argue this time is different.
“We’re going to work hard to hold their feet to the fire,” Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal told reporters on Tuesday ahead of the hearing.
The spotlight is likely to be brightest on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, as the company that controls Instagram and Facebook has faced particular pressure over the issue because of its size and popularity with younger users. Zuckerberg is expected to tout the company’s more than 30 safety controls, according to prepared testimony released ahead of the hearing. Still, lawmakers are likely to call on Meta to do more.
Each of the CEOs is expected to defend their efforts on youth safety and to point to features and policies their companies have implemented in recent years — including, in some cases, updates introduced in the weeks leading up to the hearing.
TikTok and X, for example, both pointed to their recent efforts to combat child sexual exploitation on their platforms in statements ahead of the hearing.
