Beginning at 10 this morning, the CEO’s of multiple social media companies, including Tik-Tok and Meta (Facebook/Instagram) among others, were put on trial. Each company faces allegations of neglect and being the primary mode for the exploitation of hundreds of children. Lawmakers, activists, parents, and children all spoke up about this issue and made their voices heard. The opening remarks by Senator Lindsey Graham addressed the lawsuit filed by a state lawmaker who lost his son due to online extortion. Each lawmaker fighting this battle has a personal motive, and most have disdain for these large tech firms. The first company to step up to the stand was Snapchat who described their differences from Instagram, being an app that pushes creativity over consumption, and one who endorses the Kids Online Safety Act. Next was Discord, who’s CEO explained that user messages are not encrypted to allow law enforcement ease of access in case they need to use the application for criminal investigations. Tik-Tok CEO Shou Zi Chew mentioned their initiative to invest 2 billion dollars in safety in 2024, while Mark Zuckerberg (CEO of Meta) advocated for legislation to be passed to make it mandatory for children to have app-download approval by parents. All of these companies are facing extreme backlash on all sides from Capitol Hill today, and parents of harmed children around the nation are praying for legislation to be passed that would end the exploitation of children online.
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