Video: Blumenthal Delivers Opening Statement at Whistleblower Hearing: Meta Has Waged an All-Out War Against Kids' Online Safety

[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a co-author of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) with U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), delivered an opening statement at a hearing Blackburn convened in the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law featuring testimony from two whistleblowers who came forward to share their experiences as researchers at Meta who observed the company suppressing child safety research. The two witnesses at today's hearing are among six whistleblowers who disclosed how Meta has repeatedly deleted or doctored internal safety research that shows children being exposed to child grooming, sexual harassment and violence on its platforms.

During his opening statement, Blumenthal spoke about two previous whistleblowers who had testified before Congress about Meta, Frances Haugen and Arturo Béjar. After their testimony, Blumenthal said, "we worked on a solution to this problem, the Kids Online Safety Act. Meta promised it would work on a solution, but it did the opposite. It worked to suppress research and tools to give parents better ways to protect their children. It purposely, in effect obstructed, and blocked critical fact-finding, that you both sought to do."

"According to documents provided to our offices, Meta straight jacketed its staff under a social issues protocol that restricts research on key types of harm, including suicide, eating disorders, bullying, and child-trafficking by designating them "sensitive." Yeah, they were sensitive, because they would have undermined business and the reputation of the company. What that meant in practice is Meta installed monitors from their legal department who routinely altered, blocked, and shut down work on teen safety."

"These disclosures show why Meta has hired armies of lawyers and lobbyists, spent millions of dollars to kill the Kids Online Safety Act. It's dangerous for their business model, even if their business practices are dangerous to kids. They don't want a duty of care, they don't want transparency, they don't want tools for parents," Blumenthal said.

"The majority of the American people, the vast majority, 91 to 3, bipartisan, want this measure. We're here to demand it, and we're going to keep fighting until we get it done."

Earlier today, Blumenthal joined Blackburn and U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Ashley Moody (R-FL) at a press conference with Brian Montgomery and Maurine Molak, who spoke about the tragic loss of their children following exposure to harm on social media platforms.

A video of Blumenthal's opening statement can be found here, and a transcript can be found below.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and I want to begin by thanking you, Senator Blackburn, for holding this hearing, but even more important, for your extraordinarily dedicated, tireless, relentless work on the Kids Online Safety Act-which has been, for me, the opportunity of a lifetime to champion.

And I have come to know some of the bravest, strongest people who are with us today, parents of children who have been lost as a result of the toxic content driven by Big Tech at children, purposefully and knowingly. And I want to thank the parents who are in attendance today as well as many, many others who couldn't be with us, and say to you, we are going to continue to fight for the Kids Online Safety Act, and we will win this fight. The whistleblowers who are with us today are part of this battle. You are the truth-tellers, and you are part of a long line-I wish there were more-of people of conscience and conviction who have chosen to speak truth to power. And Senator Grassley is absolutely right that we need you because wrongdoing in government and in private industry is exposed a result of people having the courage to come forward as you have done, and you deserve more protection. I hope that Senator Grassley may join me in a bill that would provide more protection to whistleblowers.

Four years ago, another whistleblower, Frances Haugen, came forward to reveal how Meta knew it was fueling and aggravating a teenage health crisis-a mental health crisis that continues today, even more widespread and exasperated. Meta's own researchers describe Instagram as a "perfect storm" that "exacerbates downward spirals" of addiction, eating disorders, and depression. They found that Instagram makes body image issues worse for one in three girls.

Two years later, another whistleblower came forward, Arturo Béjar. He testified before this Committee that teens had dangerous, harmful experiences on Instagram at an alarming rate, and that again Meta knew about it at the very top levels of leadership. We worked on a solution to this problem, the Kids Online Safety Act. Meta promised it would work on a solution, but it did the opposite. It worked to suppress research and tools to give parents better ways to protect their children. It purposely, in effect obstructed, and blocked critical fact-finding, that you both sought to do.

I will never forget Mark Zuckerberg testifying before our Judiciary Committee and turning to the parents in the audience saying he apologized, and Meta would do better. Not only did he betray that promise, he knew it was false when he made it-because at that very moment, Meta was, in fact, suppressing research and fact-finding. According to documents provided to our offices, Meta straight jacketed its staff under a social issues protocol that restricts research on key types of harm, including suicide, eating disorders, bullying, and child-trafficking by designating them "sensitive." Yeah, they were sensitive, because they would have undermined business and the reputation of the company. What that meant in practice is Meta installed monitors from their legal department who routinely altered, blocked, and shut down work on teen safety. In one research study, those monitor even demanded the destruction of data on underage children being solicited for sex acts. Mark Zuckerberg and other Meta executives wanted to make sure that government regulators, parents, and teens never heard anything more about the dangers of their products that are caused to young people. And as your disclosures show, they did so because Meta's attitude simply hasn't changed. It prioritizes profits over the well-being of children and teens. For example, Meta executives canceled proposals to more accurately identify children on its virtual reality platform and to provide them safeguards against abuse.

These disclosures show why Meta has hired armies of lawyers and lobbyists, spent millions of dollars to kill the Kids Online Safety Act. It's dangerous for their business model, even if their business practices are dangerous to kids. They don't want a duty of care, they don't want transparency, they don't want tools for parents. They want the Wild West, which continues now. And you know, Big Tech has been compared to Big Tobacco. I sued Big Tobacco. As Attorney General of the state of Connecticut, I led my fellow Attorneys General in suing Big Tobacco, and you know what gained us a victory-ultimately a settlement worth a lot of money which is still coming to the states and a change in practices? The industry's own documents showed they were lying. The parallel is indisputable. We had a whistleblower there, we have whistleblowers here, who are speaking truth to power and revealing that this industry knows how its business model of driving toxic content to kids and even destroying lives is known to them.

So, I take from your testimony that Meta has no shame, no conscience. It's waged an all-out war against kids' online safety. It spent millions to stop that bill in the House even though it passed overwhelmingly 91 to 3 in the Senate. The majority of the American people, the vast majority, 91 to 3, bipartisan, want this measure. We're here to demand it, and we're going to keep fighting until we get it done. Thank you, Madam Chair.

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1. KOSA