Summary

  • Five CEOs from major tech companies have testified at a Senate hearing about the protection of children from online sexual exploitation

  • The five faced some fiery questions, with Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg being asked "what the hell were you thinking?" over an Instagram prompt directing users to possible child abuse material

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

  • TikTok's Chew was also grilled on the company's data practices, and admitted his own children do not use it because of rules where he lives in Singapore

  • Lawmakers are investigating how tech platforms are tackling harmful content online and what needs to be done to better protect children

Live Reporting

Edited by Brandon Livesay & Francesca Gillett

  1. Enormous crowd charged by 'high emotions'

    Sam Cabral
    Reporting from Capitol Hill

    US Senate hearingReuters

    The hearing room is packed - so much so that committee chairman Dick Durbin just commented that it is the biggest crowd he’s ever seen in the room.

    I am watching the proceedings from an overflow room. It’s the first time I’ve had to do so for a Capitol Hill hearing, which shows just how many people are invested in this testimony.

    Parents who lost their children to online exploitation held up placards bearing their faces as the hearing began.

    In his opening remarks, Senator Durbin warned the audience not to be disruptive, saying “I know there’s high emotions in this room”.

    But before entering the hearing, Durbin did not appear optimistic this hearing would achieve much.

    “It’s difficult (to pass legislation) in an election year,” he conceded to reporters.

    Durbin speaks to reporters outside the hearing room

  2. Senator says Facebook founder has 'blood on his hands'

    Lindsey Graham speaking at the hearingUS Senate Committee

    Each of the tech bosses is reading a prepared statement about their company. Mark Zuckerberg is speaking currently.

    So let's revisit a moment from earlier, when Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told the hearing that social media companies are "destroying lives" and "threatening democracy itself".

    Graham tells the story of a young man who was extorted on Instagram and ended up taking his own life.

    He then addresses Mark Zuckerberg, whose company Meta owns Instagram.

    Mr Zuckerburg, you and the companies before us - I know you don’t mean it to be so, but you have blood on your hands. You have a product that’s killing people"

    Lindsey Graham, Republican Senator

    Many of the spectators in the audience cheer and clap in response.

  3. Discord boss is first up

    Jason Citron, the CEO of Discord, is the first tech boss to speak.

    He's giving an opening statement, outlining what his company is doing to protect children.

    We should hear some questions soon.

  4. Some senators expect little more than 'high-tech baloney'

    Sam Cabral
    Reporting from Capitol Hill

    On their way into the hearing, two lawmakers - a Democrat and a Republican - set their expectations very low.

    “We’re not going to hear anything different. They’re going to make more promises, more empty commitments,” Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal told us.

    “Mark Zuckerberg was before us in 2017 when I was in the House,” his Republican colleague Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee said.

    “He made promises but he hasn’t kept his word," she said.

    Blumenthal and Blackburn are currently teaming up on a bill called the Kids Online Safety Act, which prevents platforms from recommending harmful material to young users.

    Ahead of the hearing, Snap became the first Big Tech company to back the legislation.

    Blumenthal and Blackburn hope others will follow its lead.

    But lawmakers won’t be impressed by “all of the verbiage and high-tech baloney that we’re going to hear today,” Blumenthal said.

    “The pummelling of these witnesses is no substitute for action,” he added.

  5. Committee chair says social media gave predators 'powerful new tools'

    Durbin speaks at the hearingUS Senate Committee

    In his opening remarks, committee chair Dick Durbin says today's hearing will look at "an issue on the mind of most American families".

    He highlights reports of child sexual abuse material to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's cyber tip line rising to 100,000 by 2023, and a concerning increase in reports of sextortion online.

    The ubiquity of smartphones, Senator Durbin adds, has introduced image, video and live content sharing apps that "have changed the way we live, work and play".

    But he adds that social media apps, such as those represented today, "have also given predators powerful new tools to sexually exploit children".

  6. Which platforms are in - and out - of favour with US teens?

    A bar graph ranks social media use - Youtube is 1, followed by TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook then Discord, WhatsApp, X, Twitch, Reddit and BeReal at the bottom.

    The hearing has started and committee chair Dick Durbin is making his opening remarks, which you can watch by clicking the Play button at the top of this page

    While that's happening, let's look at a recent survey by Pew Research Center. It shows YouTube continues to be the most widely used platform among US teens between the ages of 13 and 17.

    The survey carried out between September and October 2023 with 1,453 respondents saw nine in 10 teens say they use YouTube.

    But out of the platforms represented at today’s hearing, TikTok comes out on top.

    Pew Research’s survey saw 63% of teens say they use TikTok, including 17% saying their use of it is “almost constant”.

    Teens were using the video-sharing app and Snapchat more than they were Instagram, and were found to be less likely to be using Facebook or X (formerly Twitter) than they were 10 years ago.

    The latter stat is hardly too surprising - with Facebook perceived by many gen z and gen alpha teens as being a platform for boomers.

    And X said in a recent blogpost 13-17 year olds account for less than one per cent of its daily US users.

    A bar graph shows the frequency of use of Youtube, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook by US teens. Youtube is used more broadly, but TikTok has the most 'almost constant' users.

  7. What is today about?

    Liv McMahon
    Technology reporter

    The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing is about to start.

    The committee will question social media platforms on their approach to keeping young people safe, and grill their executives on potential failings to do so.

    Lawmakers have cited a rise in Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) reported to US watchdogs.

    Many examples were highlighted at a committee meeting held last February about protecting kids online, where witnesses and lawmakers agreed firms should be held accountable.

    Legislators have since spurred ahead with a number of bipartisan bills such as the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) - recently backed by Snapchat and Microsoft - and STOP CSAM Act in an effort to hold tech firms accountable and make the measures used to tackle child abuse material more transparent.

    So it’s likely tech bosses like Mark Zuckerberg will have to answer robust questions, respond to distressing examples of online abuse experienced by young people and explain why they didn’t act sooner.

  8. Crowds queuing to witness CEOs answer for child safety

    Sam Cabral
    Reporting from Capitol Hill

    Mark ZuckerbergReuters

    On a chilly morning in Washington, five tech executives are about to sit in the hot seat.

    Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has just entered the building. He is testifying before Congress for an eighth time, while TikTok chief Shou Zi Chew is back again after his appearance on the House of Representatives side last year.

    The CEOs of X, Snap and Discord are all making their debuts on Capitol Hill and had to be subpoenaed for their testimony.

    A big crowd has already gathered to witness the hearing, with an entry line winding out of the front door.

    Parents who have lost children to social media exploitation will reportedly be in the audience for this hearing too.

    A queue of people outside the door of an ornate building

    The queue for a seat in the hearing is stretching out the door

  9. Tech bosses start to arrive

    Nomia Iqbal
    Reporting from Capitol Hill

    TikTok boss Shou Zi Chew arrives at congress

    The CEOs are entering the building.

    And are immediately confronted by the press pen. It’s full of cameras and reporter with mics - including us.

    First up is head of Tik Tok, Shou Zi Chew - his second appearance on the hill.

    Last year he endured a marathon grilling by lawmakers about the platform’s alleged ties with China.

    He was flanked by security and ignored all questions, including if he’s doing enough to keep children safe online.

    He’ll have to answer that though when he and others take their seats in front of lawmakers shortly.

  10. The rise in child sexual abuse material

    The Senate Judiciary Committee have shared some deeply troubling US statistics.

    From March 2009 to February 2022, the number of victims identified in child sexual abuse material (CSAM) rose from 2,172 victims to more than 21,413 victims.

    From 2012 to 2022, the number of reports about child sexual exploitation sent to national tip lines rose from 415,650 to more than 32 million.

    Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee Dick Durbin said the system was failing children.

    “In almost every aspect of the real world, child safety is a top priority," he said

    "But in the virtual world, criminals and bullies don’t need to pick a lock or wait outside the playground to cause harm."

  11. Some tech CEOs had to be subpoenaed to show up

    It’s likely going to be a tense atmosphere today after three of the five tech CEOs had to be issued with subpoenas to get them to attend.

    According to Senators Dick Durbin and Lindsey Graham (the chair and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee), X CEO Linda Yaccarino, Discord CEO Jason Citron and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel were issued subpoenas because of their “repeated refusals” to testify.

    Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew voluntarily agreed to testify in the hearing.

    “When they were offered their chance to testify, some companies outright refused to make their CEOs available," Durbin and Graham said in a joint statement.

    "Several companies initially refused to accept a subpoena. The US Marshals Service even attempted to serve the subpoena at Discord’s office. Both actions are remarkable departures from typical practice,” the statement read.

  12. Who is testifying?

    Mark Zuckerberg in a navy t shirt holding his handsGetty

    Bosses from some of the world’s biggest tech firms will appear at today’s hearing to answer questions about child safety on their platforms.

    Mark Zuckerberg - chief executive of Facebook-parent company Meta, is the most recognisable of the tech leaders at Capitol Hill. This will be his eighth appearance before Congress, after first testifying in 2018 following the Cambridge Analytica scandal. This time Zuckerberg will be grilled about teens’ experiences on Facebook and Instagram.

    Shou Zi Chew - TikTok’s chief executive. TikTok has been scrutinised by US lawmakers over its Chinese parent company ByteDance, and the security of American teens’ data on the platform.

    Linda Yaccarino - chief executive of X (formerly Twitter), is representing the social platform owned by billionaire Elon Musk at the hearing. X has said tackling child sexual exploitation is its top priority.

    Evan Spiegel - the billionaire head of Snapchat. Snapchat is popular with teens and has faced many questions about the content young people see and exchange on the platform.

    Jason Citron - boss of messaging platform Discord. Home to thousands of public and private servers, Discord has previously been questioned over how it detects and prevents child abuse across its platform.

  13. Tech CEOs to testify at US senate

    Brandon Livesay
    US reporter

    Hello and welcome to our live coverage of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on online child sexual exploitation.

    Some of the leaders of the biggest social media platforms in the world have been called to give evidence today, including Meta CEO and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

    We’ll also be hearing from the bosses at TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Snap and Discord as they are grilled about child safety on their platforms.

    You can watch a livestream of the hearing by pressing the play button at the top of this page. It starts at 10:00 ET (15:00 GMT).

    Stay with us as we bring you the latest updates and analysis from the hearing.