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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n