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"Recent revelations about harm to kids online show that Big Tech
is facing its Big Tobacco moment — a moment of reckoning," said
Senator Richard Blumenthal, who chairs the Senate Commerce
consumer protection subcommittee holding the hearing.
"We need to understand the impact of popular platforms like
Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube on children and what companies can
do better to keep them safe."
Senator Marcia Blackburn, the top Republican on the
subcommittee, said, "TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube all play a
leading role in exposing children to harmful content."
A Snap spokeswoman said the company looks forward to discussing
their "approach to protecting the safety, privacy and wellbeing
of our Snapchat community." TikTok and YouTube both confirmed
they would take part.
Earlier this month, the panel held a hearing with Facebook
whistleblower Frances Haugen, who turned over thousands of
documents she said showed the company had failed to protect
young users.
"The company's leadership knows how to make Facebook and
Instagram safer, but won't make the necessary changes because
they have put their astronomical profits before people.
Congressional action is needed," Haugen said.
At the hearing, Blackburn accused Facebook of turning a blind
eye to children below age 13 on its services. "It is clear that
Facebook prioritizes profit over the well-being of children and
all users," she said.
Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg rejected the criticism.
"The argument that we deliberately push content that makes
people angry for profit is deeply illogical," he wrote. Last
month, Facebook said it was putting on hold a new version of its
Instagram photo sharing app for kids.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Karishma Singh)
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