Social Media Regulation in the US: A Hearing on Child Safety and the Growing Appetite for Tighter Rules

The United States Senate held a hearing on child safety and the role of social media companies in addressing this issue on January 31, 2024. The hearing, which took place in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., was marked by raw emotion and a bipartisan agreement that social media firms are failing the American public, particularly young people. The hearing featured executives from Meta, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter), among others.

The session was chaired by Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who expressed his frustration with the social media executives, stating, “We could regulate you out of business if we wanted to.” The sentiment was shared by other lawmakers, who accused the tech companies of failing to protect children from sexual exploitation on their platforms.

The hearing was tense and emotional, with many parents in attendance who had lost their children to online predators. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., compelled Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to apologize directly to these parents for the role he believed Meta’s Facebook and Instagram apps had played in their children’s deaths.

Despite the heated exchanges, there were few signs that the hearing would result in immediate regulation for the companies. Both Meta and Snap shares remained relatively flat in after-hours trading on the day of the hearing, indicating that Wall Street did not expect significant financial repercussions for the tech firms.

The growing appetite for social media regulation

The Senate hearing came at a time when there was a growing bipartisan consensus that social media firms needed to be held accountable for the safety of their users, particularly children. Both Republican and Democratic senators expressed their concern that these companies were failing to protect young people from harm.

However, passing legislation takes time, and social media firms continue to face criticism for child-safety issues. This ongoing scrutiny could keep the topic of social media regulation at the forefront of political discussions.

Child-safety and anti-big tech advocates are optimistic that the hearing will help kickstart efforts to regulate social media firms via proposed bills like the Stop CSAM Act and the Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA. However, lawmakers have previously grilled tech CEOs over antitrust and data privacy issues, and they have yet to pass legislation that would significantly change the way these companies operate.

Sen. Tillis acknowledged the need for these companies to address the issue themselves but warned, “Or Congress will make a decision that could potentially put you out of business.”

The focus on Meta

Meta, with its enormous user base and high-profile data privacy blunders, was a primary target of the hearing. The company has faced numerous lawsuits, including one filed by New Mexico’s attorney general, alleging that it is not adequately safeguarding its young users from sexual predators. The potential penalties for these lawsuits could be significant for Meta, depending on their outcomes.

The social networking giant paid $725 million in 2022 to settle a class action lawsuit stemming from its Cambridge Analytica scandal. Its shares were in free-fall that year due to a weak economy and the effects of the Apple iOS privacy update. For now, Meta’s business continues to rebound, with its advertising business partially lifted by unnamed “Chinese retailers.”

Lawmakers have increasingly sounded alarms over Chinese companies, and during this hearing, they peppered TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew with questions about the social network’s Chinese owner, ByteDance. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., even asked Chew whether he had ever been a member of the Chinese Communist Party. Chew responded, “Senator, I’m Singaporean.”

Conclusion

The Senate hearing on child safety and social media regulation was a significant event that highlighted the growing bipartisan consensus that these companies need to be held accountable for the safety of their users, particularly children. While there were no immediate signs of regulation following the hearing, the ongoing scrutiny of social media firms could lead to proposed bills and increased pressure to address these issues. The focus on Meta, with its enormous user base and high-profile data privacy blunders, will continue to make it a primary target for regulation.