Alexander Lewis 
Feb 01, 2024
Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies at a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, U.S., October 23, 2019. — Reuters
Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Meta, apologised to families whose children were harmed by online exploitation by social media use during a court hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
The apologetic remarks came as the Meta CEO presented himself before US Senate Judiciary to address question regarding the impact of social media on children.
The primary issue that was under discussion during the hearing was child sexual exploitation online, while it also included CEOs of the top social media platforms apart from Meta — such as CEOs from Discord, Snap, X and TikTok.
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The hearing also featured a video of children highlighting their experiences with online bullying, abuse and more.
Presiding over the committee, Dick Durbin lashed out at the platforms for failing to safeguarding children, while Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, senior United States senator, told Zuckerberg that he had "blood on his hands" from a "product that's killing people."
Among the families of the victims that were attending the hearing, some stood holding photos of their children and shared their stories.
The Republican Sen. Josh Hawley asked Zuckerberg if he would like to apologise to victims harmed by his social media platforms. The Meta CEO then stood and directly apologised to the victims' families while facing them.
"I'm sorry for everything you have all been through. No one should go through the things that your families have suffered and this is why we invest so much and we are going to continue doing industry-wide efforts to make sure no one has to go through the things your families have had to suffer," Zuckerberg said in his apology. However, Zuckerberg did not agree to Hawley's proposal of establishing a fund to compensate victims.
Zuckerberg and other CEOs of social media platforms promoted their measures for child safety on the internet as Meta last year announced that it allocated $5 billion for online safety and security in 2023.
They also expressed their willingness to collaborate with legislators, parents, non-profit organisations, and law enforcement to ensure the protection of minors.
