Senate to grill Meta, Alphabet, TikTok and Snap on child safety

The Senate Judiciary Committee will put the leaders of Meta, Alphabet, TikTok and Snap back under the glare of Washington on June 23, in a hearing that asks whether social media has reached its “big tobacco” moment. Chairman Chuck Grassley issued the invitation as lawmakers, advocates and courts keep pressing the industry over the effects of addictive design, harmful content and online exploitation.

The hearing, titled “Examining Tech Industry Practices and the Implications for Users and Families: Is This Social Media’s Big Tobacco Moment?”, will revisit a fight that Congress has already staged once before. On Jan. 31, 2024, the same committee grilled the CEOs of Discord, Meta, Snap, TikTok and X about failures to protect children online. Senators, including Dick Durbin and Lindsey Graham, pressed the companies on sexual exploitation, predation and the effects of social media on young users, and lawmakers said they had secured commitments from some executives during that session.

The question now is what changed after the outrage. The answer so far is less a wholesale redesign of the platforms than a widening legal and public-health reckoning. Meta, Google, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat are facing thousands of lawsuits in California state and federal courts over allegations that their platforms were designed in ways that harmed children’s mental health. Federal health officials have also kept up the pressure. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, analyzing 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey data, found that frequent social media use was associated with higher levels of bullying victimization, persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and some suicide-risk indicators among U.S. high school students.

The legal exposure has sharpened that scrutiny. In New Mexico, a jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million in civil penalties in a child-safety case after a seven-week trial. Jurors deliberated for less than a day. Meta said it respectfully disagreed with the verdict and planned to appeal. The case has become a symbol for critics who say repeated hearings have not produced enough change in product design or enforcement, even as companies keep returning to Capitol Hill.

The debate has also moved inside the public-health system. The National Institutes of Health, through the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute of Mental Health, held a public workshop on April 4 and 5, 2024 on technology and digital media’s effects on child and adolescent development and mental health. With states adopting a patchwork of youth-focused laws and Senate aides weighing tougher federal legislation, the June 23 hearing will be another test of whether Congress can do more than stage another round of outrage.