Parents of children victimized on social media shamed the CEO of America’s most prominent platform as they entered a Senate hearing on Wednesday — with many family members holding up photos of their dead or scarred children as the emotional impact video played.
A group of distraught parents lined the front gallery of a packed Senate Judiciary Committee chamber as Committee members lambasted executives for their failure to protect underage users on their platforms.
An audible hiss spread from the gallery as the CEOs walked into their seats and the parents poked them with sharp glares.
Present at the hearing were: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, TikTok CEO Shou Chew, X CEO Linda Yaccarino, Snap Inc. CEO. Evan Spiegel and Discord CEO Jason Citron.
As soon as the officer entered, people uploaded pictures of their children who either committed suicide or had psychological breakdowns after falling victim to the predators they encountered on Facebook and Instagram.
“Alex, Forever 17,” one sign read, “Carson Bride, Forever 16,” read another, and “Mason Bogard, Forever 15,” read a third. They were among more than 20 such signs held above the crowd.
“If you don’t believe this is an idea whose time has come, look at the turnout here,” Committee Chairman Sen. Dick Durbin told the CEO as he directed the hearing.
Parents of children killed or injured by sexual abuse on social media filled the Senate Committee gallery on Wednesday. AP From left: Discord CEO Jason Citron, Snap Inc. CEO. Evan Spiegel, TikTok CEO Shou Chew, X CEO Linda Yaccarino and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared at the Senate Judiciary Hearing on Wednesday. AP
The CEO was then shown heartbreaking videos of parents and victims sharing their experiences of sexual abuse on social media.
“I was sexually exploited on Facebook… I was sexually exploited on Instagram… I was sexually exploited on X,” said a line of victims, some with their faces visible, others blacked out or blurred to protect their identities.
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“My son Riley died by suicide after being sexually exploited on Facebook,” said mother Mary Rodee as she held up a photo of her son, who in 2021 killed himself just six hours after a predator forced him to share explicit images online and then blackmailed him. he.
“An exploited child is never the same,” continued one father in the video.
“I reported this issue many times,” said a woman whose identity was obscured in the recording. “It took over a decade before anyone helped me.”
The parents of 12-year-old Matthew Minor, who died in 2019 after participating in a viral TikTok “choking challenge.” AP As a victim impact video played at the start of the hearing, parents shared how their children were exploited online. Allison Bailey/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
A mother whose face is blurred in the footage explains how her 13-year-old son was “exploited online and trafficked”.
The young teenager took to Twitter for help but was rebuffed with vague answers. He ended up killing himself and locked himself in his bedroom.
“X’s response is ‘Thank you for contacting us. We reviewed the content and we found no violation of our policies, so no action will be taken at this time.’”
“How many more kids like Matthew… like Olivia… like Riley… How many more kids are going to suffer and die because of social media?” the video concluded, filed through many parents.
“Big technology failed to protect my child from sexual exploitation,” said the mother.
Many children whose images are kept in galleries kill themselves because of their experiences on social media. Getty Images Parents hold photos of their children and stare down the social media CEO as they enter the hearing room. Getty Images
Several of the parents who appear in the video also attended the hearing, including Riley’s mother, Mary.
Also in attendance were the parents of 12-year-old Matthew Minor, who died in 2019 while participating in a TikTok “choking challenge;” and the parents of Mariam Radwan, whose severe eating disorder left her wheelchair-bound after Instagram and TikTok’s algorithms turned her curiosity about healthy eating into a death trap.
“TikTok showed my 12-year-old son Matthew a video of a “choke challenge,” Matthew’s father, Todd Minor, said in a statement released after the hearing. “He tried it, and it killed him. TikTok and other platforms have allowed these deadly viral videos to spread for over a decade, resulting in hundreds of deaths like Matthew’s.”
“The algorithms that drive Instagram and TikTok nearly killed my daughter Mariam. Curious about healthy eating, social media sucks her into a black hole of dangerous content such as how to eat less than 500 calories a day or challenges to prove extreme thinness,” said Mariam’s mother, Naveen Radwan.
“She spent four years of high school in and out of the hospital, had a heart attack, and was confined to a wheelchair due to an eating disorder fueled by social media. TikTok and Instagram make a lot of money from his pain,” he said.
Zuckerberg delivered a hasty apology after Sen. Josh Hawley demanded to know if he ever gave it to a parent. AP
After being told he had “blood on his hands,” by Senator Lindsay Graham, billionaire Facebook founder Zuckerberg was forced by Senator Josh Hawley to stand and face parents behind him in an apology.
“Did you apologize to the victim?” Hawley asked as Zuckerberg fumbled for an answer and the gallery filled with applause. “Show him the pictures! Do you want to apologize for what you have done to this good person?”
Facing a crowd of parents who now stood with pictures of their children held aloft, Zuckerberg said “I’m sorry for everything you’ve all been through.”
“And this is why we’re investing so much and we’re going to continue to do industry-wide efforts to make sure no one has to go through what your family has to go through,” he said before turning and sitting back down.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free, confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 24/7 at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
