Unveiling the Dark Side of the Web: CEOs of Discord, X, and Snap Testified on Child Exploitation
The CEOs of Discord, Snap, and X, namely Jason Citron, Evan Spiegel, and Linda Yaccarino, have been summoned by the US Senate Judiciary Committee. They are required to attend a hearing scheduled for December 6, which aims to address the issue of online child sexual exploitation. The committee has been conducting an investigation into the child safety measures implemented by social media platforms, with the goal of enhancing safeguards to shield children from harm in the digital realm.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina announced that the three subpoenaed companies refused to cooperate by accepting subpoenas on behalf of their CEOs, “requiring the committee to request the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the subpoenas in person.” The Committee also released copies of the separate subpoenas issued to the respective CEOs.
In addition, the committee also highlighted that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew are expected to testify voluntarily in the upcoming hearing, but the date of the same was not clear.
The CEOs of Discord, X, and Snap posted challenges on the web about child safety
The two senators also expressed concern about threats to minors online, saying, “Big Tech’s failure to police itself at the expense of children cannot go unanswered.”
The committee blamed the companies for not taking the matter seriously and not helping it reach a conclusion by consulting the parties involved. It further highlighted that the three CEOs refused to accept subpoenas and the panel was forced to enlist the US Marshals Service to hand it over to them personally “in a significant departure from normal practice”.
According to a Reuters report, Snap revealed that CEO Spiegel had already agreed to testify before the committee, saying, “Our team is coordinating with committee staff on possible dates. We appreciate the opportunity to appear before the committee to discuss this important matter.”
In a statement, Discord said: “Keeping our users, especially young people, safe is at the heart of everything we do at Discord. We have been actively engaging with the committee to determine how we can best contribute to this important industry conversation.”
Wifredo Fernandez, director of U.S. and Canadian government affairs for X, said in a statement that the company has “worked in good faith to participate in the Judiciary Committee’s hearing on child protection online because safety is our top priority at X. Today we are communicating our updated availability to participate in the hearing on this important issue.”
The committee held its first hearing on the topic in February, where it approved several bills to strengthen rules for children’s online safety. One such bill would remove platforms’ immunity from civil and criminal liability under child sexual exploitation material laws.
