Things got personal on Thursday during a virtual Congressional hearing to testify about online misinformation from three of the world’s most powerful CEOs, with lawmakers demanding to know what concerns Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet CEO, Sundar Pichai, on the impact of social media on children’s own.
The issue of protecting children’s well-being, and particularly mental health, emerged as a major topic in the hearing before the House Energy & Commerce Committee, which was also attended by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, following recent reports from that Facebook Instagram (FB) is developing a sister photo – sharing platform for children under 13.
Facebook and Google’s YouTube (GOOG, GOOGL) have already launched sister products tailored for children.
“What do you say when one of your kids doesn’t want to hang up the phone?” Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-MA) asked Pichai, after accusing Google and Facebook of doing a “bad job” in keeping children under 13 off their platforms and actively integrating children into their ecosystems using YouTube Kids and Facebook Messenger Kids.
“The struggle is the same, and particularly through COVID it has been – it has been difficult to moderate it,” said Pichai after saying that he is concerned about the amount of time his children spend online. “And I take advantage of parental controls and digital wellness tools so that we can limit the time on their apps, and that’s why we have provisions in place.”
‘You are drawing your next growth frontier’
Zuckerberg told the committee that his children – aged 3 and 5 – do not use social media and that his company was developing tools to put parents in control.
“I think we proved that this can be a good and safe experience, and I think it was one of the things that made us think that we should consider doing this for Instagram,” said Zuckerberg, explaining that Facebook was still thinking about how the service would work. .
The Twitter CEO also did not get a free pass explaining how his platform is protecting children. Committee members have repeatedly pressured CEOs to respond to accusations that their platforms are used to share child exploiting images and videos. They were also asked about the mental health impact of children who spend a lot of time on their services and why, in the case of Facebook, they are creating a version of Instagram for children under 13.
“You are drawing your next growth frontier,” said Bill Johnson (R-OH). “Big Tech is essentially giving our kids a lit cigarette and hoping they’ll stay addicted for the rest of their lives,” added Johnson, comparing the addictive qualities of social media to Big Tobacco.
Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) Hypothesized that an increase in teen suicide in her district could be directly related to teenagers’ use of social media and prompted the trio of CEOs to answer whether their companies had researched the impact of social media on younger users.
“Too much time on screens and social media is leading to loneliness and despair, and it seems to be an accepted truth in the technology industry. Because what we’re hearing today is that making money is more important, ”said Rodgers.
Zuckerberg countered the lines by questioning that users who spend time online, connecting with others are, in fact, less lonely.
The Google CEO also faced a tough line of questioning about YouTube, owned by him, with Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) expressing concern about YouTube ads targeting children. In 2019, Google and YouTube paid a record $ 170 million fine to resolve claims by the Federal Trade Commission and the New York Attorney General that they collected personal information from children without their consent.
Pichai said YouTube removed about 1 million videos based on child safety concerns and is in compliance with regulations.
“There are scenarios in which there could be family viewing and today there are creators who create content geared towards families and, as part of that, there are advertisers interested in connecting with these users,” said Pichai.
No solutions in Section 230
Committee members also raised the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol, as well as a mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado and the shooting in Atlanta, as evidence that social networks are still not doing enough to limit the dissemination of violent and extremist content.
For their part, Zuckerberg, Dorsey and Pichai said they continue to work to contain this content and limit its spread across their networks.
Absent from the hearing, substantive debates were expected on solutions for how to fix Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a law passed in 1996. The law, which provides liability protection for websites and platforms that host user-generated content and allows websites to moderate this content, became the main target of Democrats and Republicans.
Many Democrats say it allows social media sites to allow extremist content on their platforms without fear of repercussions, while Republicans say they censor conservative voices.
Zuckerberg, Pichai and Dorsey offered their own views on how to deal with the law, with Zuckerberg saying it should be adjusted for larger companies, Pichai calling for greater transparency in moderation and Dorsey proposing an open source social networking protocol. The committee members, however, did not offer much in their own proposals.
Representatives also continued to fail to agree on what exactly they disagree so strongly when it comes to Section 230. And while they have raised important questions about the impact of social media on children, until lawmakers can explain their problem with the law , it will remain unchanged.
Alexis Keenan is a legal reporter at Yahoo Finance and a former litigation attorney. Follow Alexis Keenan on Twitter @alexiskweed.
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