1:35 PM ET, January 31, 2024
Republican Sen. Kennedy says meta-platforms have become a ‘death place for truth’
From CNN’s Aditi Sangal
Senator John Kennedy attended the US Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on “Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis” in Washington, DC today.
From the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee
Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, said meta platforms have become a “dead field of information” where users “only see one side of the problem.”
“You have convinced over 2 billion people to give up all of their personal information, every bit of it, in exchange for knowing what their high school friends ate on Saturday night.” he said. “And then we take this information, this mass of personal information, and develop algorithms that push people’s hot buttons over and over again to keep them coming back and keep them coming back for longer. , your platform is, in a sense, a deathbed for truth because users only see one side of the problem.”
Zuckerberg rejected this characterization of his business.
In this environment, Kennedy argued, platforms can become “cesspools of hate.”
When asked if Facebook makes it clear to users how their data will be monetized by the platform, Kennedy replied, “Are the user agreements still terrible?”
This caused laughter in the room.
Zuckerberg said people understand the basics of how social media works.
“You are in a creepy hill country. We’re tracking people who aren’t even Facebook users,” Kennedy said, adding, “I wonder if our technology is superior to humanity in terms of the benefits of this funnel. ” he said.
In conclusion, Kennedy told Zuckerberg, “If you don’t think Instagram is harming millions of young people, especially teenagers, and especially young women, then you shouldn’t be driving.”