4 takeaways from a heated hearing with Tech CEOs – January 31, 2024

Senators grilled the CEOs of Meta, TikTok, Snap, Discord and X Wednesday in a heated hearing about harm posed to teens and kids online.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew faced most of the pressure from the panel, which focused primarily on the ways teens and children can experience harm through Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

But each CEO faced questions about the policies they have in place to mitigate the risks of online sexual exploitation, as well as the spread of harmful content that promotes suicide, self-harm and eating disorders over the roughly four and a half hours of questioning.

The packed hearing room was filled with parent and survivor advocates who held up photos of victims and put pressure not just on the companies, but also on the senators to add regulation that would hold the companies accountable.