WASHINGTON – In an unscripted scene during tense testimony on Jan 31, Meta Platforms chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg stood before a packed Senate hearing room and apologised directly to the families of children who were victims of sexual exploitation on social media platforms. 

“I am sorry for everything that you have all gone through,” Mr Zuckerberg said on Jan 31 while facing a crowd of safety advocates and parents holding photos of their children.

“It’s terrible. No one should have to go through the things that your families have suffered.”

The impromptu moment came during an hours-long Senate hearing on protecting children online.

Mr Zuckerberg had faced intense criticism and pressure from Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, who ripped into the executive personally and blamed Meta’s photo-sharing app, Instagram, for an alleged failure to protect its young users against mental health issues and exposure to sexually explicit content. 

Mr Hawley challenged the Meta co-founder on whether the victims of sexual exploitation online should be compensated by companies like Meta – and Mr Zuckerberg personally – and then prompted him to apologise directly to the families in attendance. 

“Let me ask you this: There are families of victims here today. Have you apologised to the victims?” Mr Hawley asked. “Would you like to do so now? They’re here. You’re on national television...

“Would you like to apologise for what you’ve done to these good people?”

Mr Zuckerberg then stood up at the table and turned around to address the audience. 

No stranger to the congressional hot seat, Mr Zuckerberg received most of the attention and attacks during the first few hours of the hearing, despite sitting next to the CEOs of Snap, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) and Discord.

At several points, he became visibly frustrated as senators hammered him, often talking over him. 

At one point, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas raised his voice at Mr Zuckerberg, who pushed back.

“Senator, do you want me to answer your question?” Mr Zuckerberg quipped. “Give me some time to speak.”

Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn, a leading lawmaker on children online safety efforts, also ripped into Mr Zuckerberg, accusing him of wanting to draw more young users to Instagram while not being able to guarantee their safety.

Ms Blackburn said Meta was trying to thwart the committee’s attempts to pass regulation that would impose controls on the social networks, and also asserted that Meta aspired to be the “premier sex trafficking site” on the Internet. 

Mr Zuckerberg scoffed at the accusation. “Of course not, senator,” he said in response. “That’s ridiculous.” BLOOMBERG