Here's a link to the emails that Blumenthal referenced.
While Zuckerberg's apology was the big moment, I thought Blumenthal's questioning of these messages was the most probing. Meta has put in place mechanisms and rules meant to keep younger users safe, but these emails do call into question just how committed the company's leader is to those efforts.
We're on a break
A quick break now in the hearing. We've still got quite a few senators to go. Stay with us!
Cotton grills Chew on his background
During a line of questioning aimed at the background of TikTok's CEO, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., repeatedly asked if Chew was Chinese or had ever applied for any other citizenship.
"Have you ever been a member of the Chinese Communist Party?” Cotton asked.
Chew replied, “Senator, I’m Singaporean.”
Chew lives in Singapore with his wife and children, who are American.
Reminiscent of Zuckerberg's "Senator, we run ads," response from a 2018 hearing.
Zuckerberg has expressed his support for age verification on platforms throughout the hearing as a means of managing minors' experiences on the platform. He shared that he believes the onus should be on app stores to streamline the process.
Parents booed Zuckerberg after he endorsed the content made by teen influencers on Instagram and other Meta platforms.
Sen. Mazie Hirono questioned Zuckerberg on why Meta didn't default all teens to the app's most restrictive settings.
Zuckerberg responded by saying, "A lot of teens make amazing content."
In response, parents in the audience laughed and booed.
Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, asked Zuckerberg whether he would “commit to reporting measurable child safety data on your quarterly earnings reports and calls.”
Zuckerberg said that the company already has a quarterly report on the data, and said: “I’m not sure it would make as much sense to include [the data] in the SEC filing.”
Senators have pushed the tech CEOs to back the Kids Online Safety Act. X CEO Lina Yaccarino and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel have already given their support for the bill.
Zuckerberg turns to speak directly to parents
Hawley compelled Zuckerberg to turn to the audience to apologize and make safety commitments to parents during his questioning.
"There’s families of victims here today. Have you apologized?" Hawley asked. "Would you like to do so now? They’re here, you’re on national television, would you like now to apologize to the victims?"
Zuckerberg stood, turned and committed to ensuring that the company would act on child safety issues.
That's quite a moment, and one I didn't really expect. Parents held up the pictures of their deceased kids while Zuckerberg spoke.
That will be remembered for some time.
Hawley asked Zuckerberg if he would “commit to compensate” the families who appeared at the hearing. He mentioned whether Zuckerberg would contribute to a “victims compensation fund.”
Zuckerberg, clearly rattled, said “Senator my job is to make good tools.”
Hawley brings up Meta’s internal research, which was revealed via The Wall Street Journal, detailing Instagram’s negative effects on the mental well-being of teenagers. Hawley describes these as “facts,” which Zuckerberg countered “aren’t facts” and that Hawley is cherrypicking the research.
In his questioning of TikTok's CEO, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, accused the platform of exposing American kids to "self-harm videos and anti-Israel propaganda."
TikTok has denied it has an anti-Israel bias. An NBC News report from last November found that there has been a shift in support for Palestinians among young people in recent years. An October 2023 poll by Echelon Insights, a Republican-leaning polling firm, found that registered voters under 40 used Instagram or X to express support for Palestinians even more than TikTok.
Cruz also accused TikTok of pushing more positive and educational content to children in China compared with kids in America. TikTok is not available in China.