Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg interviewed in the United States Senate and mocked by elected officials

United States – “You have blood on your hands. » US Senator Lindsay Graham did not mince her words to Mark Zuckerberg. The boss of Meta and the founder of Facebook was heard this Wednesday, January 31, in the Senate on the dangers that social networks present to children and adolescents. He faced the wrath of elected officials.

He was not the only one interviewed as the leaders of X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, Discord and Snap were also interviewed. “Social media is dangerous. They destroy lives, threaten democracy (…). Mr. Zuckerberg, you and the companies before us, I know you don’t think so, but you have blood on your hands. You have is a product that kills people”Lindsey scolded Graham.

“You have done nothing. You didn’t fire anyone. You have not compensated the victims. The families of the victims are here today. did you apologize », also pinned Josh Hawley. Mark Zuckerberg stammers. “Do you want to do it now?” », the elected official insisted. Confused, he stood up and addressed the families gathered in the Congress hall, as you can see in the video below (in English).

“We work hard to provide parents and teens with the support and tools they need to reduce risk”Meta’s boss assured during his opening speech. “Keeping young people safe online has been a challenge since the advent of the Internet and as criminals evolve their tactics, we must evolve our defenses as well”he added.

Sexual abuse, suicide

The topic brings together elected politicians from both sides and numerous organizations who accuse digital platforms of not adequately protecting young people, especially against the risks of sexual exploitation or suicide.

Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Linda Yacarino (X), Shou Zi Chew (TikTok), Evan Spiegel (Snap) and Jason Citron (Discord) therefore faced political ire. “There are no tools to hold companies accountable. Instead, “survivors” and their advocates are left to urge these companies to prioritize safety over profit.”Slammed Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, who heads the Judiciary Committee that launched the hearings.

“As a father of three young children, I know the issues raised today are terrifying and every parent’s nightmare.”TikTok head Shou Zi Chew said. “I want to invest more than $2 billion in securities. This year alone we have 40,000 professionals working on this subject. »

Social networks advertise

X for its part will create a new branch dedicated to the moderation of the platform, which will primarily recruit around a hundred people to fight this scourge, according to a press release published on Friday.

“X is not the platform of choice for children and teenagers”Remembered Linda Yaccarino. “Children under 13 cannot open an account and less than 1% of US users are between 13 and 17. For them, the settings are basically private and they cannot allow anyone to access them”.

Mark Zuckerberg also expanded on the numerous steps his group has taken to protect youth, investing more than $20 billion in security since 2016 and employing 40,000 people dedicated to moderating and protecting the platform.

“hypocrisy”

But senators cited internal documents from the social media giant, which prove that Mark Zuckerberg refused to strengthen the teams responsible for uncovering threats to teenagers. “The level of hypocrisy is astounding”Determined with New York Times Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal.

The documents are part of a complaint filed by nearly forty US states in late October. They believe that meta hurts “Mental and Physical Health of Youth”Citing the dangers of addiction, cyberbullying or eating disorders.

Under US law, digital platforms are largely shielded from legal liability for content shared on their sites. Many elected officials want to put more rules in place to better regulate them, but new laws have been blocked by a deeply divided Congress over solutions and intense lobbying from big technology companies.

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