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CEOs of Tech Companies Anticipated to Support Legislation and Offer Sneak Peek into Policy Plans During Senate Child Safety Hearing

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Tech CEOs are scheduled to testify on Wednesday at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing addressing child safety concerns on social media platforms. During the hearing, executives from X, TikTok, Discord, Meta, and Snap are expected to provide rare commitments to policies and endorse regulations, according to representatives from these companies.

These hearings involving tech CEOs are typically contentious, and this one is anticipated to be no different. However, company representatives have stated that their CEOs will extend olive branches by expressing support for legislative initiatives and providing assurances on policy matters.

Wifredo Fernandez, Chief of U.S. and Canadian Public Policy at X, informed NBC News that CEO Linda Yaccarino plans to endorse the SHIELD Act and other legislation related to child safety. The SHIELD Act, proposed by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., seeks to criminalize the transmission of nonconsensual intimate images and sexualized depictions of children.

Several other child safety bills have been introduced in the Senate, including the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which aims to establish a "duty of care" for social media companies recommending content to minors. Additionally, the Stop CSAM Act focuses on expanding protections for minor victims and enhancing reporting requirements for child abuse, making it easier for victims to request content removal from platforms.

Snap has already expressed support for KOSA, aligning it with their existing policies. In November, Meta advocated for federal legislation requiring parental approval for teens under 16 downloading apps.

While tech companies have been slow to support industry regulations, the Senate Judiciary Committee sees these hearings as a strategy to publicly pressure CEOs into making commitments and pave the way for legislation this year.

Linda Yaccarino is not the only CEO making announcements during the hearing. Snap's CEO Evan Spiegel is expected to share that the company will not further deploy encryption on Snapchat in ways that could impede scanning for child sexual abuse material. Although parts of Snapchat are already encrypted, the platform proactively scans messages and communications for such content or indications of dangerous behaviors.

Encryption deployment in apps has sparked controversy, with child safety advocates arguing that end-to-end encryption hinders law enforcement investigations into potential child predators. On the other hand, privacy advocates consider encryption a human right, providing protection from surveillance for victims and whistleblowers.