Zuckerberg apologises as CEOs of Meta, X, TikTok grilled about online child safety at US hearing

Facebook co-founder and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has apologised to families who say their children had been harmed by social media, during a fiery hearing in the US Senate where CEOs of Meta, TikTok, X and other companies have been criticised over the dangers that children and teens face using the platforms.

"I am sorry for everything you have all gone through, it is terrible. No-one should have to go through the things that your families have suffered," Zuckerberg said to the affected families as the executives testified before the US Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday (31 January), reports BBC. 

His remarks came amid a torrent of anger from parents and lawmakers that companies are not doing enough to thwart online dangers for children, such as blocking sexual predators and preventing teen suicide.

Zuckerberg testified along with X CEO Linda Yaccarino, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew and Discord CEO Jason Citron.

They were questioned for almost four hours by US senators. Lawmakers wanted to know what they are doing to protect children online.

Zuckerberg and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew voluntarily agreed to testify - but the heads of Snap, X (formerly Twitter) and Discord initially refused and were sent government-issued subpoenas.

Behind the five tech bosses sat families who said their children had self-harmed or killed themselves as a result of social media content.

"They [the five CEOs] are responsible for many of the dangers our children face online," US Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, who chairs the committee, said in opening remarks.

"Their design choices, their failures to adequately invest in trust and safety, their constant pursuit of engagement and profit over basic safety have all put our kids and grandkids at risk," he added.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz asked, "Mr Zuckerberg, what the hell were you thinking?" when he showed the tech boss an Instagram prompt that warns users they may be about to see child sexual abuse material, but asks if they would like to "see the results anyway".

Zuckerberg said the "basic science behind that" is "it's often helpful to, rather than just blocking it, to help direct them towards something that could be helpful". He also promised to "personally look into it".

During another exchange with Republican Senator Josh Hawley, Zuckerberg was invited to apologise to the families sitting behind him.

He stood up, turned to the audience and apologised.

During the hearing, the executives touted existing safety tools on their platforms and the work they've done with non-profits and law enforcement to protect minors.

Ahead of their testimony, Meta and X also announced new measures in anticipation of the heated session.