Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg turned his back to senators during a Wednesday hearing to stand and apologize to parents of children who have died or were seriously harmed after suffering abuse through social media.
In a remarkable moment following a contentious exchange with Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), the Meta chief turned to dozens of parents and activists. Zuckerberg was not on the microphone, but he could be heard in the hearing room saying “I’m sorry” and expressing his regrets for the harm their children suffered.
”The things that your families have suffered and this is why we invest so much and we are going to continue doing industry wide efforts to make sure no one has to go through the things your families have had to suffer,” he added, a Meta spokesperson told The Hill.
Hawley directly asked Zuckerberg if he has apologized to victims and blasted the billionaire for failing to set up a compensation fund with his vast wealth. Parent advocates in the hearing room — many of whom were holding signs of their children who they say were impacted by harm from social media companies — said they had not received an apology.
Zuckerberg defended the company by saying Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has “industry-leading” efforts to mitigate risks.
Hawley called the defense “nonsense” and told Zuckerberg his “products are killing people.”
Mary Rodee, a parent advocate in the audience, called Zuckerberg’s comments at the hearing “really weak.”
“If he really wants to apologize to me then answer any of my letters or contacts from any attorneys or anybody else the whole time since my kid died three years ago,” Rodee told The Hill.
Rodee said her son, Riley Basford, died by suicide when he was 15 after he was a victim of sexual exploitation on Facebook Messenger.
He was sent child sexual abuse material, responded with his own pictures and was then extorted for $3,500 she said.
“In that very short time, he panicked. He was an impulsive 15-year-old. He felt totally trapped and he killed himself,” Rodee said.
“I literally left him at 10:15 in the morning, and at 3 in the afternoon, I’m standing in exactly the same spot watching a bodybag with my child,” she said.
The Hill reached out to a Meta spokesperson for comment in response to Rodee’s allegations.
Along with Zuckerberg, the CEOs of TikTok, Discord, Snapchat and X, formerly known as Twitter, are testifying.
During the hearing, senators have pressed the CEOs over harms related to the prevalence of online child sexual abuse material as well as other harmful content, such as posts promoting self-harm, suicide and eating disorders.
Updated at 1:19 p.m. EST