"Your products kill", "you have blood on your hands".
American senators heavily attacked the CEOs of Meta, X, TikTok, Snap and Discord, grilling them in a Justice Committee hearing on the risks of social platforms for children and adolescents.
"They are destroying human lives and threatening democracy. These companies must be tamed and the worst is yet to come," accused Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
Words welcomed by the applause of dozens of parents with photos of their dead or traumatized children on social media.
Embarrassed, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg turned to his families and apologized.
"I'm sorry for everything you've had to go through. No one should have to go through what you've gone through. That's why we've invested so much to ensure that others don't have to go through what you went through," he said, illustrating the company's efforts: around 40,000 people responsible for online security, over 20 billion dollars spent since 2016 and two more planned for this year.
But the senators cited internal documents that show Zuckerberg has refused to strengthen teams tasked with identifying dangers to teenagers online.
Tik Tok CEO Shou Zi Chew also boasted of his efforts to protect minors, with 40 thousand employees and 2 billion in investments planned for a platform that has over 170 million monthly users in the USA.
But he too ended up in the crosshairs for numerous episodes.
Linda Yaccarino defended X by recalling that it is not a platform chosen by young people and that a new department for content moderation will still be created.
Moderation so far relaxed by patron Elon Musk.
The problem is that the measures announced by the platforms are considered insufficient by observers and authorities.
And various bills to protect minors have been pending in Congress for some time but so far none have been approved.
Congressional inaction has pushed cities and states to go it alone.
The mayor of New York has just branded social media as "a danger to public health", announcing measures.
Florida is preparing to legally ban social media for children under 16.
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