Social media has already become an inseparable part of people’s lives, from photos on Instagram to videos on TikTok as well as messaging on Snapchat. Most clubs and organizations at Vanderbilt also have social media accounts. We are so deeply connected to social media that it has become an integral part of our daily lives. It is undeniable that social media brings tremendous convenience. However, there are risks and dangers associated with this convenience, and social media companies often overlook the risks it poses to their users.
On January 31, 2024, the United States Senate Judiciary Committee hosted a hearing entitled “Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis.” The committee questioned Jason Citron (Discord), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Evan Spiegel (Snap), Shou Chew (TikTok) and Linda Yaccarino (X) over their platforms’ failures to protect users, especially minors. This issue stands as a rare point of bipartisan agreement under today’s polarizing political landscape.
According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, more than 36.2 million reports of online child exploitation were submitted to its Cyberipline. Despite this data and the victims’ parents attending the meeting, the CEOs of these big tech companies largely deflected responsibility, maintaining that their platforms are adequately safeguarding users.
It is undeniable that these companies operate with profit as their primary motive, often exploiting users to the fullest extent the law allows. However, the instances that the senators highlighted during the hearing are deeply disturbing. Sen. Ted Cruz referenced Instagram’s “See results anyway” feature, which allows users to bypass filters and view content containing child sexual abuse material. While the media companies have the technical capacity to block such content, they deliberately choose not to, allowing viewers to access it. This blatant disregard for children’s wellbeing has enabled the rapid spread of child pornography across social media platforms, making these corporations complicit in the harm inflicted on victims.
Despite Zuckerberg being compelled to apologize to the parents of the victims, no apology could undo the harm their children endured. Nearly two years after the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, the problem persists. Recently, on Sept. 9, 2025, two whistleblowers from Meta informed the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee that the company had “buried, pruned and manipulated” internal research revealing serious safety risks for minors using its virtual reality products. It becomes clear that Meta failed to prevent child abuse and related minor-related crimes on social media and even deliberately manipulated research to avoid this pressing issue on child safety. Despite their internal research revealing serious risks to minors, Meta dismissed and disregarded this conspicuous evidence to avoid accountability and obligation to make more revenue.
Meta is not the only company that failed to protect minors online, nor is the United States the only country grappling with this crisis. On Aug. 5, 2025, Australia’s internet watchdog accused YouTube and other major platforms of “turning a blind eye” to online child sex abuse material on their platforms. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee uncovered the harm done by social media to children on national television and pressed social media companies to work more on user protection, especially protection from child abuse. However, social media companies continued their non-action and intentional avoidance of liability.
It is unrealistic to expect social media companies to prioritize user protection at the expense of their profits. This is when public policy and legislation should come in to hold these social media companies legally accountable for the harm they have done to the users, particularly to minors. Beyond symbolic Senate hearings, Congress must take concrete action by enacting stronger regulatory frameworks that limit and prevent the dangers perpetuated by social media platforms.
