Facebook boss apologizes throughout US congressional listening to | EUROtoday

Published on : 01/31/2024 – 3:49 p.m.Modified : 01/02/2024 – 00:01

5 minutes

“I am sorry for everything you have experienced”: the creator of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg apologized Wednesday January 31 to the American Senate, questioned on the risks of social networks for kids and adolescents, throughout a listening to bringing collectively leaders of Meta, X, TikTok, Discord and Snap.

Standing in entrance of the victims of the abuses of digital platforms and their households gathered in a room of the United States Congress, the boss of Meta acknowledged that “no one should experience the things that your families have suffered.”

This topic brings collectively elected politicians from each side and quite a few associations who accuse social networks of not sufficiently defending younger individuals, notably towards the dangers of sexual exploitation or suicide.

Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Linda Yaccarino (X, previously Twitter), Shou Zi Chew (TikTok), Evan Spiegel (Snap) and Jason Citron (Discord) subsequently confronted a torrent of anger.

“Blood on my hands”

“Mr. Zuckerberg, you and the companies before us, I know you don't mean it, but you have blood on your hands. You have a product that is killing people,” Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham advised leaders .

Mark Zuckerberg expanded on the quite a few measures taken by his group to guard younger individuals, recalling having invested greater than 20 billion {dollars} in safety since 2016 and using 40,000 individuals devoted to moderation and safety on the platforms.

“We are working hard to provide parents and adolescents with the support and tools necessary to reduce risks,” he assured throughout his opening speech. “Keeping young people safe online has been a challenge since the advent of the internet and as criminals evolve their tactics, we must also evolve our defenses,” he added.

“Hypocrisy”

“As a father of three young children, I know that the issues raised today are horrific and the stuff of every parent’s nightmares,” stated Shou Zi Chew, the pinnacle of TikTok. “I intend to invest more than $2 billion in security. This year alone we have 40,000 professionals working on this topic.”

X will for its half create a brand new department devoted to the moderation of the platform, which can recruit round 100 individuals to primarily battle towards this scourge, based on a press launch revealed Friday.

“X is not the platform of choice for children and adolescents,” recalled Linda Yaccarino. “Children under 13 cannot open an account and less than 1% of US users are between 13 and 17. For them, the settings are private by default and they cannot allow to be contacted by n 'anyone”.

As for Facebook, the senators referred to inside paperwork on the social networking large which show that Mark Zuckerberg refused to strengthen the groups chargeable for uncovering dangers for adolescents. “The level of hypocrisy is staggering,” stated Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal.

New legal guidelines

These paperwork are a part of the grievance filed by round forty American states on the finish of October. They consider that Meta harms the “mental and physical health of young people”, citing the dangers of habit, cyber-harassment or consuming issues.

Under US regulation, digital platforms are largely shielded from authorized legal responsibility for content material shared on their web site. Many elected officers wish to put in place extra guidelines to raised regulate them, however new legal guidelines have been blocked by a Congress very divided on options and intense lobbying from massive expertise corporations.

One of the prevailing proposed legal guidelines is the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which goals to guard kids from algorithms which will set off anxiousness or despair. Another concept can be to require social media platforms to confirm the age of community members and fully ban entry to kids below 13.

“I don't think you're going to solve the problem. Congress is going to have to help you,” Sen. John Neely Kennedy advised the leaders.

With AFP