U.S. Senators Katie Britt, Brian Schatz Lead Letter Demanding Answers From Meta Concerning Young Users

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i), and several of their Senate colleagues sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg asking why the company delayed rolling out protections for young users even after it knew of the grave risks its platforms posed to children. Citing a court filing unsealed late last year, the senators pressed the company for answers on why it delayed launching its "private by default" feature for young users and how it reviews and acts on reports of sex trafficking and child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on its platforms.

"In the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California's consideration of Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation, a recently unsealed plaintiff's brief revealed new information about Meta's knowledge of risks to the wellbeing and safety of young users on its platforms," wrote the senators. "The documents allege that Meta employees were aware of potential and ongoing harms to young users, including impacts to attention and emotional wellbeing, exposure to inappropriate contact by adults, and challenges to taking down sex trafficking and child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on its platforms. These developments are alarming, and we are deeply concerned by allegations that Meta was not only aware of these risks, but may have delayed product design changes or prevented public disclosure of these findings."

Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) also co-signed the letter. You can read the full letter here.

Senator Britt has long advocated to protect children and teens online, previously introducing bipartisan legislation, the Kids Off Social Media Act, to prohibit children under the age of 13 from using social media and ban algorithmic targeting for users under the age of 17. Additionally, Senator Britt leads the Stop the Scroll Act alongside Senator John Fetterman (D-Pa.), which would create a mental health warning label requirement for social media platforms.

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