Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel faced a grilling at a senate hearing focused on child safety of social media platforms, such as Instagram, Snapchat, and Tiktok. The hearing, which took place on January 31, 2024, saw senators questioning the CEO’s about their efforts at combating child exploitation online. “Mr. Zuckerberg, you and the companies before us, I know you don’t mean it to be so, but you have blood on your hands,” said Republican Senator Lindsey Graham

The hearing highlighted concerns from lawmakers about the prevalence of child sexual exploitation online and the need for tech companies to do more to protect children on their platforms. Senators criticized the

companies for failing to address what they called a “plague of online child sexual exploitation.” Some senators even suggested that the CEOs should take personal responsibility and compensate the victims’ families.

An anonymous parent of four shared different sentiments. “As a parent myself, I believe we have the primary responsibility to protect our kids. We need to educate them about online safety, monitor their internet usage, and be actively involved in their online activities. the companies can only do so much.”

During the hearing, emotions ran high as parents held up pictures of their children, some of whom they say died as a result of child exploitation, bullying, and harassment on social media platforms. Republican Senator Josh Hawley pressed Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to face the grieving families, asking if the company had compensated any of the victims.

“Have you compensated any of the victims? These girls, have you compensated them?” Hawley said. “I don’t believe so.” “Why not? Have you apologized to the victims?” “I’m sorry for everything you all have been through. No one should have to go through the things that your families have suffered,” said Zuckerberg.

However, many online users have shared a common sentiment that the responsibility for protecting children online lies primarily in the hands of the parents, rather than the CEOs of tech companies. 

“The parents gotta do better sorry, this doesn’t fall in the hands of CEOs of companies it starts at home being a good parent and teaching your kids about the dangers online,” said a TikTok user. 

Melanie Van Epps, a sophomore at Kaiser High School, also expressed similar thoughts. “Yeah, I think CEOs do have some responsibility, but in the end, it’s really up to the parents to take care of their kids,” she said. 

While tech companies have a responsibility to provide safe online environments, ultimately, it is up to parents to be proactive in protecting their children, whether that’s by teaching them about internet safety and setting boundaries on their social media use.