The Senate Judiciary Committee’s shooting of four social media executives produced several notable moments. Here are a few:
Mr. Zuckerberg and Mr. Spiegel personally apologize to the family. Meta CEO Zuckerberg stood in the hearing room to apologize to the families. “I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through,” he said. “No one should have to go through what your family has had to go through. That’s why we’re investing so much and we’ll continue to work across our industry to make sure no one goes through what your family has had to go through.”
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel also apologized to families whose children died after purchasing drugs on Snapchat. “We are extremely disappointed that we were unable to prevent these tragedies,” Spiegel said, before detailing some of the efforts the company is taking to protect young users.
The ‘dark side’ of social media products is ‘too big’: Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham on Wednesday grilled the chief executives of four social media companies, saying they have produced products with good sides but also a dark side that is “too big to bear.” Graham warned that nothing will change until social media companies are sued.
Hating social media companies is a rare unifying force on Capitol Hill. Wednesday’s hearing showed once again the breadth of criticism of social media companies among lawmakers, making it a rare bipartisan topic on Capitol Hill. But despite both parties’ desire to go after tech platforms, Congress has yet to pass meaningful legislation to regulate social media companies. Most of the lawsuits are in state legislatures and courts, which have become battlegrounds for new policies such as social media age limits.
Read the full story Click here for a summary of key moments from the hearing.