Mark Zuckerberg apologizes during Senate hearing on social media, addressing harassment and exploitation concerns
WASHINGTON, DC: Mark Zuckerberg during a senate hearing apologized to the parents for the harassment and exploitation they went through online.
The META CEO on Wednesday, January 31, appeared as his company faced allegations of failing to take action to protect children on social networks.
Zuckerberg addresses parents in attendance during the hearing
The parents were in the house, when Zuckerberg directly addressed them, “I’m sorry for everything that you all have gone through,” he said. “It’s terrible. No one should have to go through the things that your families have suffered.”
He reasoned that, for this reason, his organization is going ahead with ‘so much’ investment to ensure and safeguard its users.
The billionaire added that they will continue to “to make sure that no one has to go through the types of things that your families have suffered.”
Zuckerberg claimed that Meta is investing over $20 billion to enhance the safety and security infrastructure and personnel across its chain of social-media applications.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel apologizes too at the hearing
Chairman Durbin emphasized that the United States is at a critical juncture, addressing the unbridled influence of Big Tech, and he stressed the need for legislative action to be taken.
“As parents and grandparents we know what daughters and sons and others are going through they cannot cope,” he said. “They cannot handle this issue on their own. They’re counting on us, as much as they’re counting on the industry, to do the responsible thing.”
Sen Laphonza Butler (D-CA) asked Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, who was also present alongside Zuckerberg at the hearing, “There are a number of parents whose children have been able to access illegal drugs on your platform. What do you say to those parents?”
Snap is accused of facilitating the acquisition of drugs that were used in overdoses, as per the lawsuits filed by the parents against Snap, reports The Guardian.
“I’m so sorry that we have not been able to prevent these tragedies. We work very hard to block all search terms related to drugs on our platform,” Spiegel said.
“We proactively look for and detect drug-related content. We remove it from our platform, preserve the evidence, and then we refer it to law enforcement for action,” he continued.
“We’ve worked together with nonprofits and with families on education campaigns, because the scale the fentanyl epidemic is extraordinary," Spiegel added.
