The social media trial begins in the United States Congress: “You have blood on your hands”
“Your products kill.” “You have blood on your hands.” American senators harshly attacked him CEOs of the most important platforms social Half, X, Snap, TikTok And Discord during a hearing at the Justice Committee on the protection of children online. He brings it back Rai News.it.
“They are destroying lives and threatening democracy. These companies must be tamed and the worst is yet to come,” the South Carolina senator said Lindsey Grahamto the applause of some of those present in the courtroom, including the families of some victims with photos of their dead or damaged children from social platforms.
Many online risks for children: sexual predators, addiction, self-harm and eating disorders, unrealistic beauty standards, bullying, which is urgently needed”a regulation,” said Zamaan Qureshi, co-president of Design It For Us, a coalition that advocates for safer social media.
At the center of the hearing, Half. The tech giant has been sued by dozens of states accusing it of have consciously and deliberately designed features on Instagram and Facebook that they are addictive to children and that they have failed to protect minors from online predators.
Zuckerberg's apology
The founder of Meta, Mark Zuckerbergapologized to the families present: “I'm sorry for everything you had to go through. No one should go through what you went through. It is for this reason – said the CEO of Facebook and Instagram – that We have invested so much and continue to make efforts to ensure that others do not have to go through what you have“.
In response, Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley asked Zuckerberg to “compensate” the families of children who were harmed by the platforms. Among the cases cited during the hearing was that of children who ended up in depression and minors who committed suicide.
Apologies from Snap's CEO
Also the CEO of Snap, Evan Spiegelapologized to families whose children died after purchasing drugs on Snapchat. “I am so sorry that we were unable to prevent these tragedies,” Spiegel said, before detailing some of the efforts the company takes to protect young users.
“The dark side of social media “is too big”: Social media companies have created products that have a bright side, but they also have a dark side that is “too good to live with,” Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said.
TikTok
Even the CEO of Tik Tok Shou Zi Chew boasted efforts to protect minors, with 40 thousand employees and 2 billion in planned investments for a platform that has over 170 million monthly users in the US. But he too ended up in the crosshairs for numerous episodes.
X will have a content moderation department
Linda Yaccarino defended X by recalling that it is not a platform chosen by young people and that a new content moderation department will still be created.
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