Senator asks Facebook’s Zuckerberg to testify at hearing on kids’ safety

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) is asking Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify at a hearing about the company’s policies regarding kids’ safety online following the release internal documents by a company whistleblower. 

Blumenthal, chair of the Senate Commerce consumer protection subcommittee, asked the tech CEO Wednesday to appear before the panel himself or send Instagram head Adam Mosseri. Blumenthal underscored his request by doubling down on accusations that the company has been withholding information about the impact of its products on young users in a way that has misled Congress and the public. 

“Parents across America are deeply disturbed by ongoing reports that Facebook knows that Instagram can cause destructive and lasting harms to many teens and children, especially to their mental health and wellbeing. Those parents, and the twenty million teens that use your app, have a right to know the truth about the safety of Instagram,” Blumenthal wrote in a letter. 

“I am disappointed that Facebook has been unwilling to be fully transparent with me, other members of Congress, and the public, and appears to have concealed vital information from us about teen mental health and addiction,” he added. 

A spokesperson for Facebook confirmed the company had received the letter, but did not comment further. 

Zuckerberg has testified before Congress in the past, but the company has sent other executives to participate in recent committee hearings. 

Facebook’s global head of safety Antigone Davis appeared at a hearing hearing at the end of last month focused on kids’ safety that occurred after the publication of a Wall Street Journal report based on leaked internal Facebook documents that detailed Instagram’s negative impact on teen mental health, 

Blumenthal said he was “disturbed” that Davis “could not provide the Subcommittee with specific plans to address these proven risks to teens.”

His letter also underscored the need for a further hearing with Zuckerberg or Mosseri after the company “posted a series of tweets apparently seeking to preempt or defuse any additional disclosures.” 

Facebook’s vice president of communications, John Pinette, wrote a series of tweets Monday criticizing journalists for reporting on leaked documents ahead of what he called a “coordinated series of articles.” 

“But, Facebook still refuses to make public those documents in any meaningful or transparent way. It’s continued concealment and cowering speaks volumes,” Blumenthal wrote. 

Although Facebook has been in the spotlight after the company whistleblower, Frances Haugen, came forward, Blumenthal’s subcommittee is also requesting additional information from other social media companies regarding their impact on young users. 

Blumenthal and subcommittee ranking member Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) scheduled a hearing for Tuesday featuring executives from TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat. 

All three companies confirmed they will be sending executives to participate.