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Big Tech’s prime management confronted brutal questioning from senators on either side of the aisle Wednesday over the way forward for the business’s regulation associated to combatting on-line little one sexual exploitation.
CEOs of Meta, TikTok, X, Snap and Discord testified on Wednesday earlier than the Senate Judiciary Committee in a listening to that centered across the question of what legal responsibility and duty the platforms ought to bear if it knowingly or unknowingly hosts dangerous content, particularly concentrating on or exploiting minors.
Behind the witnesses sat an viewers filled with relations who misplaced family members after they unknowingly purchased fentanyl off social media and died, or have been victims of consuming issues, self-harm, and suicide due to dangerous social media content.
Lawmakers from each events gave the impression to be marching to the beat of the identical drum, emphasizing that they assume congress ought to go legal guidelines that might carry sure legal responsibility shields of the businesses.
Jason Citron, CEO of Discord; Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap; Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok; Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X; and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, watch a video of victims earlier than testifying on the US Senate Judiciary Committee listening to, “Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis,” in Washington, DC, on January 31, 2024. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP through Getty Images)
“We live in an America in 2024 where there is no regulatory body dealing with the most profitable, biggest companies in the history of the world. They can’t be sued. And there’s not one law on the book that’s meaningful for protecting the American consumer,” rating member Lindsey Graham, R- S.C. advised Fox News Digital.
The Judiciary Committee has already unanimously handed 5 payments that might place extra safeguards on social media purposes like the power to opt-out of algorithms geared towards addicting customers, and increase the federal civil reason for motion for little one victims to sue the platforms that promoted or facilitated exploitation.
But the lawmakers pressed the CEOs on why their firms wouldn’t wholly assist the measures.
GRAHAM TELLS ZUCKERBERG, ‘YOU HAVE BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS,’ AUDIENCE CHEERS
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, arrives for a Senate Judiciary Committee listening to on the Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 31, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“Instagram recently announced that it’s going to restrict all teenagers from access to eating disorder material, suicidal ideation themed material, self-harm content. And that’s fantastic. That’s great. what’s odd, what I’m trying to understand, is why it is that Instagram only restricting it’s access just to sexually explicit, but only for teens ages 13 to 15. Why not restricted for 16 and 17 year olds as well?,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah pressed.
“Senator, my understanding is that we don’t allow sexually explicit content on the service for people of any age,” Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, Instagram’s guardian firm, answered.
“How is that going?” Lee replied, prompting the viewers to snigger.
“Uh, you know, our prevalence metrics suggest that — I think it’s 99% or so of the content that we remove. We’re able to identify automatically using an AI system. So I think that our efforts in this, while they’re not perfect, I think are industry leading,” Zuckerberg stated.
Lina Nealon, vp on the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, stated the listening to revealed “an astounding lack of true remorse from tech CEOs for the children who have been traumatized and have even died as a result of their inherently dangerous platforms.”
“The elephant in the room,” she stated, “was CDA Section 230, tech’s current liability shield that has protected tech, not those who have been victimized by sexual abuse and exploitation online.”
“Section 230 is the single greatest enabler of online sexual abuse and exploitation. We were encouraged that Senators appear to recognize the harm Section 230 has enabled, and we hope to see this change,” she stated.
GOP SENATOR URGES SCOTUS TO REIN IN BIG TECH’S CONTENT CENSORSHIP THAT DEFIES ‘LOGIC’
Senator from Arkansas Tom Cotton, R-Utah speaks in the course of the US Senate Judiciary Committee listening to “Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis” in Washington, DC, on January 31, 2024. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP through Getty Images)
The payments that might probably convey that change embrace the EARN IT Act; STOP CSAM Act; Preventing Child Sex Abuse Act; the Kids Online Safety Act; Project Safe Childhood Act; REPORT Act; and the Child Safety Modernization Act.
Senator Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., a co-sponsor of the Kids Online Safety Act advised Fox News Digital following the listening to that in her view it “is clear that Big Tech is prioritizing profit over the wellbeing of our children.”
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“These executives have failed to take action and are sitting idly by as our children are dying from fentanyl and being trafficked online,” she stated, including that Congress ought to go her bipartisan invoice.
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