There were fireworks on Capitol Hill yesterday as the CEOs of 5 Big Tech social media platforms faced the heat from both Democrat and Republican Senators, as well as families that have lost a loved one due to the company’s negligent practices. Jason Citron, CEO of Discord; Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap; Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok; Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X; and Mark Zuckerberg CEO of Meta all showed up to Washington DC to get a grilling from the Senate Judiciary Committee as part of their inquiry into the “Big Tech and the Online Child Exploitation Crisis.”
Keep in mind, three of the five CEOs had to be subpoenaed to show up. Tell me if they care about any of us again, please.
One of the main arguments from yesterday’s hearing is that these social media companies can’t legally be held liable if their platforms have led to the death of children either directly or indirectly. They don’t see human beings, they don’t see anxious and vulnerable teenagers, they see dollar signs and that’s all. In Facebook Meta’s case – Mark Zuckerberg has literally decided that the lifespan profit of a 13-year-old comes out to $270. Heck of a guy that Zuck is!
The South Carolina Republican Senator absolutely eviscerated the CEOs with many of his clips going viral. Some of my favorite moments included when he asked why NONE of the CEOs have supported any of the 5 different legislative bills that have already passed in the House that would protect children – even with some basic things like age verification measures to use the platform. When he asked Jason Ctiron of Discord – Citron awkwardly and insultingly began fumbling through his papers to find the lawyer-approved statement he was supposed to respond with. He eventually recited his BS statement – four different times in a row.
At one point, Graham likens the free-for-all that Big Tech has had to the unchecked, unregulated, and as we know now and knew back then – dangerous cigarette industry was. That is, until things were changed via the threat of lawsuits and liability – which Graham argues MUST be done here as well.
“There’s no commission to go to that can punish you. There are no laws on the book because you oppose everything we do… that has to be stopped. How can we help the families if we can’t hold any of you accountable,” Graham asked.
“I believe in free enterprise, but I also believe that every American that’s been wronged needs to have someone to go to [when things go wrong].”
I mean hell, you know it’s bad when you have both Democrats and Republicans agreeing with each other. That NEVER happens. Unfortunately, fentanyl overdoses and mental health affects everyone in every Congressional district and state regardless of political allegiance.
DOCTORS AND SCIENTISTS SUE PLATFORMS FOR CENSORING FREE SPEECH DURING PANDEMIC
What was most frustrating about seeing all the holier-than-thous up there is that their words ring hollow. At times, they even laugh and roll their eyes while the Senators question them. And let’s not get started with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew – who openly lied to Congress during the last hearing – but hey, that’s what you get when you don’t put these people under oath!
The bottom line is, if we don’t do SOMETHING to Big Tech and try to regulate what should be a given – the safety of children, then things are only going to get worse. With the rise of Artificial Intelligence and the fact that they have the ability to control, disseminate and pick and choose not only how you’re going to get your information, but more importantly, what kind of news you’ll be given, shows just how much time is of the essence here.
We saw what Facebook and Twitter did during the last election cycle – and although publicly they have “apologized,” the disheartening arrogance shown at yesterday’s Senate Committee hearing show that they really don’t care.
And that’s why things need to change NOW and yesterday’s grilling – led by Senator Graham – was a good start.
