Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, Apologizes to American Families
Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has apologized to families during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on children’s online safety in the United States. When Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) pressed Zuckerberg to apologize to families who attended the hearing, calling attention to children who were targeted by online predators, Zuckerberg apologized.
“I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through,” he told the families who attended the hearing late Wednesday.
“No one should have to go through what your families have gone through, and that’s why we’re investing so much and continuing our industry-wide efforts to make sure no one has to go through what your families have gone through.” Meta’s CEO added.
During the hearing, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said that 20 million teenagers use Snapchat in the United States and that about 200,000 parents use its Family Center controls.
He also said that about 400,000 teen accounts are linked to a parent’s account through Family Center, reports TechCrunch. Snapchat’s Family Center lets parents see who their teens are friends with on the app and who they’ve been communicating with.
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif) had asked the CEOs of Snap, Meta, TikTok, X and Discord to reveal how many minors were using their platforms. Zuckerberg said he could not give exact numbers, but said the company is running “broad advertising campaigns” to raise awareness of its parental control tools.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said he could not share details, but that TikTok was “one of the first platforms” to give parental controls. Discord CEO Jason Citron said Discord is raising awareness about parental controls through promotional videos and in-app prompts.
The United States is considering the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which would require social platforms to take additional steps to protect children online.
