Tools: Mark Zuckerberg Lied To Congress. We Can't Trust His Testimony

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, The Tech Oversight Project issued the following report on the eve of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony in the social media addiction trials. The report analyzes Zuckerberg’s testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2024 against newly unsealed documents that show Zuckerberg lied and deceived the Committee. The Tech Oversight Project has compiled some of the most damning evidence against Meta on our Big Tech on Trial microsite, which will be updated throughout the proceedings. View the microsite here.

“It’s important to remember that Meta has hidden behind Section 230 for so long that people like Mark Zuckerberg thought they were bulletproof. Meta’s team of attorneys bet on the fact that these documents would never see the light of day because a product liability case would never make it to trial, and they guessed wrong,” said Sacha Haworth, Executive Director of The Tech Oversight Project. “Never-before-seen documents prove that Zuckerberg lied to Congress. We know that they will lie, bury research, and continue recklessly harming young people until Congress forces them to clean up their act. The only way to outlaw Meta’s dangerous and egregious behavior is to pass legislation, like the Kids Online Safety Act, which will hold their feet to the fire and force them to protect children and teens.”

“No one should have to go through the things that your families have suffered and this is why we invest so much and are going to continue doing industry leading efforts to make sure that no one has to go through the types of things that your families have had to suffer,” Zuckerberg said directly to families who lost a child to Big Tech’s products in his now-infamous apology.

– Source: US Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on "Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis" (2024)

Despite Zuckerberg’s claims during the 2024 US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Meta’s post-hearing investment in teen safety measures (i.e. Teen Accounts) are a PR stunt. A report conducted a comprehensive study of teen accounts, testing 47 of Instagram’s 53 listed safety features, finding that:

64% (30 tools) were rated “red” — either no longer available or ineffective.

19% (9 tools) reduced harm but had major limitations.

17% (8 tools) worked as advertised, with no notable limitations.

The results make clear that despite public promises, the majority of Instagram’s teen safety features fail to protect young users.

– Source: T

Source: HackerNews