US lawmakers have invited the CEOs of Meta, Alphabet, TikTok, and Snap to testify before Congress as concerns continue to grow over children’s online safety and the impact of social media platforms on teenagers.
The invitation was issued by Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, who called on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
According to officials, the hearing would allow senators to publicly question the executives on issues related to child safety, online addiction, harmful content, and platform responsibility.
Lawmakers Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal are also pushing legislation that would require social media companies to take greater responsibility for how their platforms affect children and teenagers.
The scrutiny comes as pressure on major technology companies continues to rise across the United States. Congress has yet to pass comprehensive federal laws regulating social media platforms, leading several states to introduce their own restrictions and child safety measures.
Reports indicate that at least 20 US states introduced laws last year focused on children’s social media use and online protections.
At the same time, Meta, TikTok, Snap, and Google are facing thousands of lawsuits in federal and state courts accusing the companies of designing addictive platforms that negatively affect children’s mental health.
In March, Meta and Google reportedly lost the first case that went before a jury, resulting in a $6 million verdict. TikTok and Snap settled with the plaintiff before the trial began. Additional trials are expected later this year.
Separately, a New Mexico jury ordered Meta in March to pay $375 million in civil penalties linked to child exploitation and user safety allegations.
The upcoming hearing could also place renewed attention on TikTok following the restructuring of its US operations. This would be Shou Zi Chew’s first appearance before Congress since ByteDance separated TikTok’s US business from its global operations after growing national security concerns in the United States.
The US government had earlier passed legislation requiring ByteDance to either sell TikTok’s US operations or face a potential nationwide ban over concerns related to data security and possible Chinese government access to American user information.
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