Zuckerberg Said He Was Sorry—Then He Made Social Media Even More Dangerous
Parents for Safe Online Spaces (ParentsSOS), an educational initiative formed by bereaved families to combat online harms, issued the following statement on the anniversary of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s congressional testimony, highlighting Meta’s continued failures and the growing dangers children face online:
“One year ago, we grieving parents sat in a Senate hearing room holding photos of our children—children who should still be here today. Mark Zuckerberg looked into our eyes and said, “I’m sorry for everything you’ve all gone through. It’s terrible. No one should have to go through the things that your families have suffered.”
One year later, those words ring hollow. Nothing has changed. In fact, things have gotten worse.
We, parents, spent the rest of 2024 fighting hard to pass the Kids Online Safety Act, a bipartisan bill that would implement common-sense safeguards to protect children online. KOSA passed the Senate 91-3 in July. But despite Zuckerberg's apology, Meta spent a record $24.4 million on lobbying last year — and helped kill KOSA in the House. If Zuckerberg was truly sorry for our children’s deaths, he should get out of the way of KOSA.
Just recently, Meta announced significant changes to how it moderates content, forcing young people to report cyberbullying and content that glorifies self-harm and eating disorders. This reckless decision not only shifts the burden of child protection from a multibillion-dollar company to young people themselves, it makes it much more likely that Meta’s algorithms will spread this content before any action is taken by the company, if at all.
Zuckerberg’s apology has been revealed to be nothing more than corporate damage control from a tech billionaire. One year later, he has proven that Meta will always prioritize its bottom line over the safety of children. In the name of all the children who have suffered preventable harms on Meta’s platforms, we call on Mr. Zuckerberg to stop lobbying against KOSA. That is what we need from him, not empty apologies.” ■
