Headlines on January 31st claimed that Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, had apologized at a U.S. Senate hearing to parents whose children had died as a result of suicide from cyberbullying, asphyxiation from participating in the “blackout challenge,” body-image issues, and more. Parents for Safe Online Spaces had gathered at the hearing with framed photos of their children who had died.
The issue of teen suicide from internet use came to the fore in 2023.
Media outlets, whistleblowers, and lawsuits in 2023 reveal that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, fuels child sexual exploitation, providing a platform for pedophiles, and enabling sexually explicit and other harmful content that targets teens, especially teen girls. Meta has been sued by the District of Columbia and 41 states, which claim its products are addictive and potentially harmful to children and their mental health.
Other social media platforms are no better. Snapchat has been used to “lure and sexually exploit children.” The New York Times reported last year that X (formerly Twitter) has struggled to confront its child sexual exploitation problem. Parents are suing Roblox over sexual content on its platform. The U.S. surgeon general has warned about the mental health crisis among America’s youth and about the harm that social media can have on them. Children are vulnerable to influences they see online, and the impact of that content can even be life-threatening.
As a Washington Post article on February 1st noted:
“Zuckerberg is one of five tech executives called to testify during the hearing, which was primarily organized to address issues like the prevalence of child sexual abuse material or CSAM. The hearing has also covered other safety issues related to teens and children on social media, such as cyberbullying, body-image issues, grooming, drugs and suicide.”
Senator Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) pressed Zuckerberg to apologize to the parents, and “Zuck” turned to face them, saying “I’m sorry for everything you have all been through. No one should go through the things that your families have suffered.” He added that the company was continuing to work on the issue to prevent other families from going through similar experiences.
https://edition.cnn.com/videos/business/2024/01/31/mark-zuckerberg-apology-hearing-video-vpx.cnn
After this “apology,” Hawley pressed on and asked, “You’re a billionaire. Will you commit to compensating the victims? Will you set up a victims compensation fund with your own money?
Of course he did not answer yes or no. Here’s what he should have said: “No, Senator, I am the CEO of a major U.S. corporation, and we make no apologies for making money within the limits of the law. That’s what I’m paid to do. I’m here to maximize shareholder value, for all the stockholders, including me, the very biggest shareholder. That’s what corporations are supposed to do in America. So I won’t apologize for being an American capitalist. It’s up to you lawmakers to set reasonable limits on what we do. If you can’t figure out how to legislate to protect the public instead of harassing me, that’s on you.”
In short, Zuckerberg’s non-apology was perfectly legal. True accountability, of course, would mean that victims could sue corporations for continuing to do harm when they are perfectly aware of the effects on innocent children. It remains for members of Congress, many of whom (legally) get campaign funds from Big Tech, to figure all this out. But don’t hold your breath.