Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologizes to families of kids harmed online as Senate grills tech CEOs

The main executives of the nation's apical societal media companies were grilled connected Capitol Hill Wednesday implicit kid safety, with lawmakers accusing the tech leaders of failing to support kids from exploitation and abuse.

"Mr. Zuckerberg, you and the companies earlier america -- I cognize you don't mean it to beryllium so, but you person humor connected your hands," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said successful his opening remarks. The remark prompted applause from families gathered successful the proceeding country whose children died aft being ensnared successful immoderate of the darker sides of their platform.

"You person a merchandise that's sidesplitting people," Graham added.

Later connected successful the hearing, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., called connected Meta's Zuckerberg to straight apologize to the families successful the room.

"They're here. You're connected nationalist tv ... Would you similar to apologize for what you've done to these bully people?" Hawley pressed.

The CEO of Meta, the genitor institution of some Facebook and Instagram, past stood up and turned astir to code parents.

"It's terrible. No 1 should person to spell done the things that your families person suffered," Zuckerberg told them. "And this is wherefore we put truthful overmuch and are going to proceed doing industry-leading efforts to marque definite that nary 1 has to spell done the things your families person had to suffer."

The Senate Judiciary Committee, successful a proceeding intended to drum up enactment for national authorities to safeguard children from the online world, is besides proceeding from X's Linda Yaccarino, TikTok's Shou Chew, Snap's Evan Spiegel and Discord's Jason Citron.

Sexual exploitation of children online is simply a increasing occupation successful the U.S. According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, regular cyber tips of kid intersexual maltreatment worldly online person gone up tenfold successful the past 10 years, reaching 100,000 regular reports successful 2023.

Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., called online kid exploitation a "crisis successful America" fueled by accelerated changes successful exertion that springiness predators "powerful caller tools" to people kids.

Of the CEOs testifying, Durbin said "they are not lone the tech companies that person contributed to this crisis, they are liable for galore of the dangers our children look online."

"Their plan choices, their failures to adequately put successful spot and information and their changeless pursuit of engagement and nett implicit basal information person each enactment our kids and grandkids astatine risk," helium said successful his opening statement.

Graham acknowledged determination were immoderate positives to the societal sites, but "the acheronian broadside hasn't been dealt with."

"It's present clip to woody with the acheronian broadside due to the fact that radical person taken your thought and they person turned it into a nightmare for the American people," Graham said.

In response, the CEOs mostly leaned into highlighting actions they've taken to effort to alleviate these problems. Meta precocious announced plans to fell contented it deems inappropriate for teens, and Zuckerberg highlighted the 30 tools they've built to support kids and assistance parents navigate the online world.

Top societal media executives volition beryllium grilled connected Capitol Hill Wednesday astir whether capable is being done to support kids and their intelligence health.

Each of the CEOs addressed the families successful the country and gave their condolences, though Zuckerberg besides pushed backmost connected the nexus betwixt intelligence wellness and societal media successful his opening remarks.

"With truthful overmuch of our lives spent connected mobile devices and societal media, it's important to look into the effects connected teen intelligence wellness and good being. I instrumentality this precise seriously," Zuckerberg said. "Mental wellness is simply a analyzable contented and the existing assemblage of technological enactment has not shown a causal nexus betwixt utilizing societal media and young radical having worse intelligence wellness outcomes."

Wednesday marks the archetypal clip Snap's CEO, Spiegel, is providing grounds connected Capitol Hill successful effect to allegations that Snapchat is harming children's intelligence and carnal health.

Snapchat is besides being sued successful a people enactment suit by respective parents successful California, galore of whom accidental they mislaid their kid to fentanyl poisoning and overdose with pills bought connected Snapchat.

Spiegel said helium feels "profound sorrow" that his work has been "abused to origin harm."

Spiegel besides discussed his enactment for The Kids Online Safety Act during Wednesday's hearing. The "KOSA" measure aims to region "harmful ads and posts, specified arsenic addiction, eating disorders, and termination from showing up connected children's accounts," according to supporters of the bill.

"I privation to promote broader manufacture enactment for authorities protecting children online," Spiegel said. "No authorities is perfect, but immoderate rules of the roadworthy are amended than none."

Yaccarino said X was supportive of KOSA, but Chew, Citron and Zuckerberg didn't perpetrate to backing the measure successful its existent form.

Legislative efforts astatine the nationalist level person mostly failed, but authorities legislators person introduced much than 100 bills that purpose to modulate however children interact with societal media.

Durbin noted the nonaccomplishment to propulsion national authorities forward, saying "the tech manufacture unsocial is not to blasted for the concern we're in, those of america successful Congress request to look successful the mirror."

Graham, the ranking subordinate of the committee, said Republicans are "ready to reply the call."

"These companies indispensable beryllium reigned in, oregon the worst is yet to come," Graham said.

But the CEOs mostly showed nary statement of enactment for the assorted bills being pushed by lawmakers.

Snap's Spiegel was the lone CEO to enactment KOSA. X's Yaccarino said she supported the SHIELD Act, which would let transgression prosecution of radical who stock others' backstage images online without consent, and the Stop CSAM Act, a measure to ace down connected the proliferation of kid enactment maltreatment material. Asked if helium supported the measure, Chew said the tone of the measure is "in enactment with what we privation to do" and would comply if it became law.

Zuckerberg, Meta's CEO, said helium agrees with the "goals" successful immoderate of the fistful of bills, but not the specifics -- and redirected to Meta's ain legislative proposal.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said helium wanted each CEO to enactment successful penning what reforms they'd enactment to Section 230 -- a 1990s instrumentality that has fixed sweeping ineligible immunity to tech and societal media companies.

ABC News' Becky Worley and Tenzin Shakya contributed to this report.