Facebook, Google CEOs grilled over impact of social media on children and mental health

In first Congressional hearing after former US President Donald Trump supporters stormed US Capitol building, Facebook Inc and Alphabet’s Google came under fire on March 25 for tech giants’ impact on children. lawmakers, who more or less blamed social media including Twitter for inciting January 6 riot at US Capitol, zeroes in on Facebook’s plan for a new application for kids and YouTube’s feature that serves up a continuous stream of videos. main issues that were raised in hearing including COVID-19 misinformation, harassment, hate speech and extremism.

lawmakers pressed Facebook Inc’s Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter’s Jack Dorsey and Sundar Pichai of Alphabet Inc and Google which owns YouTube, to answer “yes” or “no” questions about wher ir respective products are designed to keep children dicted and furr pose a threat to ir well-being. 

As per Washinton Post report, Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Washington Republican and mor of three school-aged kids said, “Your platforms are my biggest fear as a parent," while ding "My husband and I are fighting big tech battles in our household every day. It's a battle for ir development, a battle for ir mental health, and ultimately, a battle for ir safety." Later, Facebook CEO said, "Using social apps to connect with or people can have positive mental health benefits" even after lawmaker revealed tragic outcomes of social media.

All three CEOs staunchly backed ir companies on Thursday with efforts platforms me to weed out toxic content posted and circulated on services that have billions of users. Dorsey said, “I don’t think we should be arbiters of truth and I don’t think government should be eir.” Democrats are laying responsibility for January 6 riot and misinformation regarding November presidential elections on social media. Rep. Mike Doyle, a Pennsylvania Democrat, told CEOs that riot “started and was nourished on your platforms.”

Lawmakers ask Dorsey, Zuckerberg, Pichai direct questions

During heated hearing of Dorsey, Facebook Inc's Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai of Alphabet Inc were asked “yes or no” including wher ir respective platforms bore any responsibility for January 6 riot at capitol building and if y understood difference between two words. Expressing frustration, Dorsey tweeted “?” with a poll asking users to vote “yes” or “no” during hearing. While poll has now received more than 95,400 votes, Democratic Representative Kathleen Rice called Dorsey out during session.