CEOs of big social media platforms are now heading to Washington, DC to answer inquiries over growing concerns on sexual exploitation of children online.
Among the companies set to testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday are Snapchat, Discord, Meta, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter).
The trial will be a continuation of previous investigations on the platforms as lawmakers push stricter legislation on protecting children from exposure to malicious acts online.
The Committee will determine whether the companies are doing enough to protect children on the internet, including promoting policies for data security tools for their underage users.
Sexual Exploitation of Children More Rampant Now on Social Media
According to the Child Crime Prevention & Safety Center, over 500,000 online predators are active every day on social media.
Despite the danger posed, social media companies have been noted to be reluctant to employ new policies to prevent pedophiles and predators from reaching minors.
Earlier court documents revealed how companies like Meta have long ignored its users under the age of 13 on Facebook and Instagram.
X and TikTok are also under heavy scrutiny due to how many accounts are sharing explicit materials of child abuse and sexual exploitation on the platform.
The increasing availability of transformative AI has only boosted more explicit images online as seen with the recent AI-generated pictures of pop singer Taylor Swift being sexually abused.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations has earlier confirmed that there is a market online of people selling explicit AI images based on actual people's likenesses, including from children.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino Visits Capitol Hill Ahead of Congress Testimony
Even before the testimony, X CEO Linda Yaccarino has been making rounds to DC to meet with several bipartisan members of the Senate, Axios reported.
Majority of the discussions were reported to be about X's efforts to combat child sexual exploitation, including its accomplishment of banning over 12.4 million accounts violating its CES rules last year.
X, where the images of Taylor Swift deepfakes first spread, has already hired content moderators to address the growing issue of explicit materials on the site.
X, along with Snap and Discord, received subpoenas to testify to Congress "following repeated refusals over weeks of negotiations."
