Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg faced a grilling from lawmakers on Wednesday over his company’s failure to protect children from sexual exploitation on its platforms, especially Instagram.
Zuckerberg was summoned to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with other tech leaders, about online child sex abuse and trafficking. He was confronted with shocking evidence of how predators use Facebook and Instagram to target, groom, and harass minors.
According to New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez, who sued Meta and Zuckerberg in December, nearly 100,000 children a day receive sexually explicit material or are targeted for sexual harassment on social media. Torrez said his office used a fake account of a 13-year-old girl to investigate the sites and found that it was “inundated with images and targeted solicitations, which, frankly, I found to be shocking.”
Torrez accused Meta of knowing for years that its platforms were a “breeding ground for pedophiles” and ignoring warnings from its own executives about the features that facilitate this kind of abuse. He urged Zuckerberg to “do the right thing” and implement stronger safeguards and controls to prevent predators from contacting children.
Zuckerberg admitted that his company “has a lot more to do” to protect young users and apologized to the families of children who have been harmed by social media. He defended his decision to allow teenage creators to have public Instagram accounts, saying that some teens want to share their content more broadly and that he doesn’t think that should be “blanketly banned.”
Also he Atouted Meta’s efforts to use artificial intelligence, human moderators, and user reports to detect and remove harmful content and accounts. He said Meta is working with law enforcement and industry partners to combat child exploitation online.
However, many senators were not satisfied with Zuckerberg’s answers and pressed him for more concrete actions and commitments. They also questioned his credibility and trustworthiness, given Meta’s history of privacy scandals and misinformation.
Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) said that Meta has a “pattern of broken promises” and that she doesn’t believe Zuckerberg when he says he cares about children’s safety. She said that Meta’s business model is based on maximizing engagement and profits, even if it means exposing children to harmful content and influences.
Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said that Meta is “profiting from pain” and that it has a “moral obligation” to stop the “predator’s playground” on its platforms. He said that Meta should be held accountable and liable for the harm it causes to children and that Congress should pass legislation to reform Section 230, the law that shields online platforms from legal responsibility for user-generated content.
The hearing was part of a broader effort by lawmakers and regulators to rein in the power and influence of big tech companies, especially Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus. Meta is also facing antitrust lawsuits, whistleblower complaints, and user backlash over its various practices and policies.
