A visibly uneasy, somewhat pallid Mark Zuckerberg abruptly interrupted what had been, until that point, rather mechanical testimony at a US Senate hearing to directly address families whose children have been harmed or perished due to content on his platforms. “I apologize for all the hardships you’ve endured. It’s dreadful. No one should have to endure what you and your families have gone through,” he expressed.
The Guardian characterized it as a “remarkable moment.” The Facebook whistleblower, Frances Haugen, described it as “impactful” and “a pivotal moment.”
Remarkable? A pivotal moment? Not quite. “Mark Zuckerberg pressured into yet another apology” is a headline that has been emerging from Silicon Valley consistently over the past two decades, akin to the latest extreme diet or exercise trend. “I readily acknowledge that we’ve made numerous errors.” “We failed to consider our responsibility broadly enough, and that was a significant misstep.” “I am willing to take responsibility for these choices and for how we reached this point.” “I believe I have evolved and gained valuable insights.”
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, while appearing at a US Senate hearing on child safety, expressed regret to the families of children who suffered due to social media.
The topic may vary, but the narrative remains the same. We have erred. We will strive to do better. And behold, I am someone who can admit when I am mistaken. What these repeated “apologies” fail to acknowledge is that children or women being harmed on social media is not an oversight. It is not an unintended outcome; it is ingrained in the system. Social media thrives on engagement, and a calm and emotionally stable user is not an engaged user. Consequently, algorithms continue to feed more disturbing, discordant, and distressing content.
Extensive studies have indicated that the more time young people, especially girls, spend on social media, the more negatively they feel.
For years, Facebook has been well aware of the harm suffered by children—especially girls—on its platforms due to the functioning of these algorithms. Documents disclosed by Haugen, a former Facebook executive, exposed that the company was fully cognizant that Instagram negatively impacts girls’ mental well-being but chose to remain inactive.
Meta is not the sole platform at fault, of course. Comprehensive studies have revealed that the more time young people, particularly girls, spend on social media, the more negatively they feel. Research carried out on children aged nine to 17 by Ireland’s National Advisory Council for Online Safety (NACOS) discovered that one in four children had encountered harmful online content in the past year, including self-harm material, content that could trigger eating disorders and violence. One in five had come across sexually explicit content. Thirty percent of young women aged 16 to 29 have faced online harassment.
The internet is simply “not conducive for women and girls,” as stated by the creator of the web, Tim Berners-Lee, four years ago. And that was before Elon Musk acquired X, before the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), before the online assault on women and girls intensified.
[ Mark Zuckerberg’s apology was impactful, but alone it will not ensure children’s safety online ]
[ It’s time to end the deceptive language surrounding artificial intelligence ]
As Zuckerberg prepared for his Congressional testimony, explicit “deepfake” images of pop star Taylor Swift inundated the social media platform X. Generated using open-source AI software, these fabricated images moved from 4chan to Telegram and then to X, where they went viral. One of them amassed 47 million views before being removed—only after the singer’s fans inundated the social media app. However, it served as a cautionary tale for women. If it can happen to Swift with all her resources, it can happen to anyone—literally anyone who has ever shared a selfie or been tagged in a photo online. And for anyone other than Swift, good luck getting it removed.
The 17-year-old Marvel actor, Xochitl Gomez, recently shared on a podcast her struggles to have pornographic deepfake images removed. “It made me uncomfortable… I wanted it removed… This has nothing to do with me. And yet it’s here with my face.”
[ Dave Fanning’s defamation case marks a new legal frontier ]
Numerous warnings have been issued about how artificial intelligence will replace jobs, transform healthcare, and disrupt elections, but there has been minimal discussion about one almost certain outcome: it will make the internet a more perilous place for women and children. AI and social media together create a highly toxic combination. The UK-based Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) recently expressed that its “worst nightmares” regarding AI-generated child sexual abuse images are coming true, including the creation of new videos using existing images of child abuse victims; the use of AI tools to depict celebrities as children in sexual abuse scenarios, and even to digitally remove children’s clothing in images posted online. An independent review of evidence on online harms on video-based platforms (VSPS) prepared for Coimisiún na Meán in September highlighted that law enforcement faces challenges in determining whether the victims in the content are real or artificially generated.
Be prepared for another two decades of tech executives seeking forgiveness rather than permission. Of scripted apologies. Of admitting mistakes.
Enhanced regulation of platforms, advanced detection and moderation tools, and enforcement must be part of the solution—but real change will only occur when tech companies perceive a threat to their profits. There are practical considerations for Ireland as well. The independent expert report for Coimisiún na Meán concludes that “regulating VSPS without due consideration of providers’ rights (overregulation) could lead to a loss of platform autonomy or hinder companies’ rights to fair competition, potentially resulting in companies relocating and negative economic impacts.
Be prepared for another two decades of tech executives seeking forgiveness rather than permission. Of scripted apologies. Of admitting mistakes. Of claiming they couldn’t have foreseen this. Of insincere tears and feigned astonishment, with tech giants becoming even more colossal. Following his somewhat apologetic address at the hearing, Zuckerberg promptly reverted to the familiar script. “The existing body of scientific research has not established a causal link between social media use and deteriorating mental health in young people,” he asserted, spinning so swiftly that one might wonder how he didn’t become nauseated.
