In a bipartisan push, the Senate Judiciary Committee gathered to scrutinize the chief executives of Meta, TikTok, Snap, Discord and X, formerly known as Twitter, about child abuse on their platforms. The hearing largely focused on how to eliminate child sexual abuse material, but senators also questioned social media’s influence on mental health and overall safety. 

Relatives of online child abuse victims also attended the hearing. Lawmakers reserved rows of seats for families whose loved ones had died, with their deaths linked to social media. At one point, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg turned to the families and apologized. 

Tech reporter Cristiano Lima-Strong writes The Post’s Technology 202 newsletter, and was at the hearing. He reported on the hearing’s main takeaways and why Congress has stagnated for years when it comes to child safety online. 

Today’s show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy, with help from Sabby Robinson. It was mixed by Sean Carter and edited by Monica Campbell.

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