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Leaders of major social media companies will have to testify before the US Senate

According to the US Senate Judiciary Committee, executives from major social media companies, namely Meta , X, TikTok , Snap, and Discord, are scheduled to testify at a Senate hearing on January 31, 2024, on the topic of online child exploitation.

Senators Dick Durbin and Lindsey Graham confirmed that while X and Discord leaders were initially hesitant about participating, all five companies have now expressed a cooperative attitude and their leaders have officially confirmed that they will attend the hearing.

The hearings will provide an opportunity to demonstrate “the failure of companies to protect children online,” the senators said.

“We knew from the beginning that our efforts to protect children online would be met with disdain from big tech companies,” said Senators Dick Durbin and Lindsey Graham in a joint statement. “They are finally being forced to admit their shortcomings in protecting children.”

The hearings are part of a bipartisan effort to tighten regulations on online safety for children. Over the past year, several states across the US have passed internet safety laws aimed at protecting children online.

However, many critics say the bill is too sweeping and could do more harm than good.

In March 2023, Utah signed a bill requiring minors to get parental consent before signing up on social media platforms, while Louisiana and Mississippi now require age verification before viewing content deemed harmful to children, such as pornography.

Other child safety bills, such as the Children's Online Safety Act and COPPA 2.0, have also recently passed the US Senate Commerce Committee, despite opposition from privacy advocates.

Notably, the upcoming hearing will be the next time TikTok CEO Shaw Tzu Chu appears before US lawmakers, after being subjected to intense questioning about TikTok's impact on users' mental health in March 2023.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, X CEO Linda Yaccarino, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel and Discord CEO Jason Citron are expected to appear at the hearing along with Shaw Tzu Chu.

(according to Overclockers)