October 20, 2021
The U.S. Senate will hold a hearing on October 26 with tech companies Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube on the impact of their platforms on young users, a panel announced on Tuesday.
“TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube all play a leading role in exposing children to harmful content,” said Senator Marsha Blackburn, the top Republican on the subcommittee.
A Snapchat spokesperson said the company looks forward to discussing its “approach to protecting the safety, privacy and wellbeing of our Snapchat community,” with TikTok and YouTube also confirming their participation.
In early October, the panel held a hearing with Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, who released thousands of internal documents she said showed the social media giant had failed to protect young users.
At the hearing, Blackburn claimed that Facebook turns a blind eye to children under 13 in its services. “It is clear that Facebook prioritizes profit over the well-being of children and all users,” she said.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg denied the accusation: “The argument that we deliberately push content that makes people angry for profit is deeply illogical,” he said.
For more information, read the original story in Reuters.
