“In what sane universe is there a link to ‘See results anyway’?” Cruz said, to which Zuckerberg responded that the warning can be wrong in some cases.
Zuckerberg’s experience in testifying before frustrated lawmakers became evident in his interaction with Cruz. As the testy exchange continued, at one point the Meta CEO asked Cruz, “Do you want me to answer your questions?” and followed up with, “Can you give me some time to speak then?”
“I’m just shocked any advertiser could watch this exchange and invest in [Meta] tomorrow,” Jason Kint, CEO, Digital Content Next, told ADWEEK.
‘Let the record reflect a yawning silence,’ – Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE)
As Sen. Coons closed his line of questioning and asked if any of the tech leaders supported the Platform Accountability and Transparency Act—a bill that aims to increase transparency and require social media companies to share more data with the public and researchers—no CEO responded with a yes.
“Mr. Chairman, let the record reflect a yawning silence from the leaders of the social media platforms,” said Coons.
Tech leaders wanted more discussions on the many bills presented at the hearing. When repeatedly pressed by Sen. Lindsey Graham to support multiple bills, “We are not prepared to support that today,” said Discord’s Citron.
Conversely, platforms like Snap backed bills like KOSA (Kids Online Safety Act) that nudges platforms to prevent the recommendation of harmful content, such as eating disorders, to children.
Zuckerberg passed the buck to Apple and Google for checking underage users of social media.
“My understanding is Apple and Google, or at least Apple, already require parental consent when a child [makes] a payment with an app,” Zuckerberg said. “So it should be pretty trivial to pass a law that requires them to make it so that parents have control anytime a child downloads an app.”
