Big Tech CEOs from Meta, X, and TikTok were called to the Hill on Wednesday to testify in a special Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on “Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis.”
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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was repeatedly blasted for company policies that put children in danger.
“Mr. Zuckerberg, you and the companies before us – I know you don’t mean for it to be so – but you have blood on your hands,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham said. “You have a product that’s killing people.”
The panel’s Democratic chairman, Sen. Dick Durbin, called the situation a “crisis in America.”
“Their constant pursuit of engagement and profit over basic safety of all put our kids and grandkids at risk,” Durbin said.
From The New York Post:
In another tense moment, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz rebuked Zuckerberg for instances in which Instagram displayed a warning screen alerting users that they might be interacting with images of child sex abuse – but let them access the content anyway.
“Mr. Zuckerberg, what the hell were you thinking?” Cruz said.
Graham, the panel’s ranking Republican member called for the repeal of Section 230, which protects social media firms from liability, so that sex abuse victims could hold companies legally accountable.
Watch Graham and Cruz blast Zuckerberg in the clip below:
Lindsey Graham to Mark Zuckerberg: “You have blood on your hands. You have a product that’s killing people.”
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) January 31, 2024
Ted Cruz destroys Mark Zuckerberg over child s*xu*l exploitation material🔥
The media only ever talks about CSE on X even though it’s a much bigger problem on Instagram.
They don’t actually care about CSE.
They’re just terrified of free speech on X. pic.twitter.com/rCbwVF7nMa
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 31, 2024