On Monday, lawmakers announced that they had subpoenaed the CEOs of X, Snap, and Discord to testify at a hearing on child sex abuse on the internet.
The CEOs were served with subpoenas, according to Sens. Lindsey Graham and Dick Durbin, following their “repeated refusals to appear during several weeks of negotiations.”
An email from a company representative stated that Snap CEO Evan Spiegel has consented to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
On Monday, lawmakers announced that they had subpoenaed the CEOs of X, Snap, and Discord to testify at a hearing on the exploitation of minors for sex on the internet.
The executives were served with subpoenas by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) following their “repeated refusals to appear during several weeks of negotiations.”
The senators released a statement together saying, “Since the start of this Congress, our Committee has rallied around a key bipartisan issue: protecting children from the dangers of the online world.” “Big Tech’s inability to regulate itself at the expense of our children is a major concern for all parents, and it cannot be ignored.”
The senators described the subpoenas to Discord and X as “a remarkable departure from typical practice,” stating that the Senate Judiciary Committee needed the U.S. Marshals Service’s assistance to personally serve them.
Durbin and Graham wrote, “We promised Big Tech that they’d have their chance to explain their failures to protect kids at our hearing on protecting children’s safety online in February.” Now is the time. The Committee’s efforts to address the crisis of online child sexual exploitation will be informed by hearing from the CEOs of some of the biggest social media companies in the world.
According to a statement provided to CNBC by Wifredo Fernandez, the head of X’s government affairs for the United States and Canada (previously known as Twitter), the company has “been working in good faith to participate in the Judiciary committee’s hearing on child protection online as safety is our top priority at X.”
Fernandez stated, “Today, we are informing you of our revised availability to take part in a hearing on this significant issue.”
An email from a company representative stated that Snap CEO Evan Spiegel has consented to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Snap representative stated, “Our team is coordinating with Committee staff on potential dates.” “We are grateful for the chance to address this important topic with the Committee.”
“Keeping our users safe, especially young people, is central to everything we do at Discord,” a spokesperson for the platform stated.
The Discord representative stated, “We have been actively engaging with the Committee on how we can best contribute to this important industry discussion.” “We are excited about the chance to collaborate with the Committee and as an industry.”
The senators claimed to have spoken with Meta and TikTok as well. According to a spokesperson, they anticipate voluntary testimony from TikTok’s Shou Zi Chew and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at some point in the New Year.
