In a rare moment of unity, those in attendance at Thursday’s Senate hearing on Big Tech and social media’s dangers broke into spontaneous applause when Sen. Josh Hawley, R-M.O., dropped a bombshell on Meta CEO and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
The conservative lawmaker said that Meta’s products endanger children’s mental health — something that social media companies are aware of and exploit for profit.
What he said went viral when the moment left Zuckerberg speechless, and the audience seated behind him started cheering.
The Facebook founder later apologized to the families of young girls that his company had harmed.
“Did I hear you say in your opening statement that there’s no link between mental health and social media use?” Hawley asked to start the explosive exchange.
“Senator, what I said is I think it’s important to look at the science,” Zuckerberg countered. “I know people widely talk about this as if that is something that’s already been proven and I think that the bulk of the scientific evidence does not support that.”
“Let me just remind you of some of the science from your own company,” Hawley replied. “Instagram studied the effect of your platform on teenagers. Let me just read you some quotes from the Wall Street Journal’s report on this:
Company researchers found that Instagram is harmful for a sizable percentage of teenagers, most notably teenage girls. Here’s a quote from your own study: “We make body image issues worse for one in three teen girls … Teens blamed Instagram.
“This is your study for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression. This reaction was unprompted and consistent across all groups. That’s your study,” Hawley said.
“Senator, we try to understand the feedback and how people feel about the services. We can improve…” Zuckerberg started.
“Wait a minute, your own study says that you make life worse for one in three teenage girls,” the Missouri senator responded. “You increase anxiety and depression.”
“That’s what it says. And you’re here testifying to us in public that there’s no link. You’ve been doing this for years,” he continued. “For years you’ve been coming in public and testifying under oath that there’s absolutely no link. ‘Your product is wonderful. The science is nascent full speed ahead while internally full.’ While internally, you know your product is a disaster for teenagers.”
The crowd began to cheer over the explosive exchange. Take a listen —
Josh Hawley receives an ovation after going off on Zuckerberg. pic.twitter.com/NFnhyleS4J
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) January 31, 2024
The Horn editorial team