Senator Hirono Presses Big Tech Executives to Protect Children Online

U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, pressed the CEOs of five major social media platforms—Meta, X Corp., TikTok Inc., Snap Inc., and Discord Inc.—about the dangers that underage users face on these platforms. In the hearing, Senator Hirono called out the companies for attracting children to their platforms and then failing to protect them from harm on those same platforms. Senator Hirono also highlighted how these social media platforms facilitate the creation and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and sex trafficking—a prevalent issue in Hawaii that she has consistently worked to combat.