Zuckerberg responded to the onslaught of grief with unusual candor. In an unusual moment, he got up from his chair and apologized.
“I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through,” he told the families gathered at the hearing. “No one should have to go through what your family has gone through, which is why we have invested so much.”
Congress has held dozens of public hearings with tech executives in recent years, but the emotional sessions have highlighted lawmakers’ growing desperation and efforts to pass new protections for children. It highlighted the willingness to use the power of spectacle to revitalize.
Online safety laws for children have been stagnant for years. And lawmakers on Wednesday grew frustrated with the chamber’s slow pace and inability to take action on the issue.
“There’s been so much discussion in the hearings and popcorn throwing and all that, but I just want to get this done,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). “had enough of this.”
The senators convened the hearing amid growing support for stronger protections to prevent children from being exposed to harmful content online and becoming addicted to major platforms.
Leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee said the hearing could be used to improve online protection, including allowing victims to sue companies for facilitation and making it harder for platforms to dismiss such lawsuits. He said he hopes this will help promote a series of bills aimed at curbing child abuse content. The committee advanced the bill with broad bipartisan support in May, but it has since stalled without a clear timeline for the bill to be considered by the full chamber.
As Congress watches, states will require tech companies to build stricter privacy and safety features into their products or give teens full access to social media without parental approval. passed a series of laws prohibiting this. But many of the most drastic measures have faced legal challenges from the tech industry or been blocked in court, which child safety advocates say highlights the need for Congressional action. claims.
Lawmakers acknowledged Wednesday that their failure to act is contributing to the ongoing problem of child abuse online. “Are we partly to blame? Absolutely,” Graham said after the hearing.
But he argued that Congress could still help rectify the problem with the support of those in attendance whose platform involved the death of a loved one.
Before the hearing began, family members in the audience made their presence felt. Minutes before the CEOs appeared to testify, dozens of grief-stricken people held up photos of family members and friends who had died by suicide or other causes. The display of emotional power reduced the previously noisy listening room to a state of silent stasis.
Throughout the hearing, families and other child safety advocates jeered as senior administration officials tried to reassure lawmakers that they were committed to addressing the issue, and senators ultimately tried to He received applause after pledging to hold him accountable.
“To everyone who took pictures today, if we are successful, it means your loved one’s death was not in vain,” Graham later told reporters. “My goal is to ensure that your suffering ends the potential suffering of others.”
The session marked the first time several executives, including X CEO Linda Yaccarino, testified on Capitol Hill. But during the session, lawmakers repeatedly focused on Zuckerberg, who has appeared in Congress more often than any Silicon Valley chief over the past five years.