Senate Judiciary Committee to Question Meta, Google, TikTok, Snap CEOs on June 23

The Senate Judiciary Committee has called on executives from Meta, Alphabet, TikTok and Snap to testify on June 23 about child online safety, as lawmakers respond to court verdicts, proposed legislation and growing advocacy efforts targeting the risks social media platforms pose for young users.

Committee chair Charles E. Grassley, of Iowa, sent letters to the companies’ chief executives: Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, Evan Spiegel of Snap, Shou Zi Chew of TikTok, and Sundar Pichai of Google. The panel is expected to question the executives during a hearing titled Examining Tech Industry Practices and the Implications for Users and Families Is This Social Medias Big Tobacco Moment? A spokesperson for the committee said staff are in active discussions and that confirmation of attendance has not yet been finalized. Meta declined to comment, and representatives for the other companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The hearing follows recent attention on how platforms are designed and how that design may affect children’s mental health, online exposure and vulnerability to abuse. The committee’s Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law held a hearing earlier...