(GoRealNewsNow.com) – In a stunning outburst underscoring the severe threats that social media pose to children, Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham blasted Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg by declaring that the latter had “blood” on his hands.
See the video of the billionaire Facebook founder being told he has blood on his hands below.
Graham (R-SC) blasted Zuckerberg during a heated Capitol Hill hearing on Wednesday.
He accused the Meta CEO of being indirectly responsible for severe consequences due to the nature of social media platforms.
The senator said these platforms inherently contribute to the exploitation of children and noted the lack of accountability for those adversely affected due to the legal protections social media companies enjoy.
“After years of working on this issue with you and others, I’ve come to conclude the following: social media companies, as they are currently designed and operate, are dangerous products,” Graham stated.
He emphasized that the current design and operation of social media platforms present them as hazardous.
The GOP lawmaker shared a distressing account of a young individual who was manipulated into sharing personal photos, leading to extortion and the individual’s suicide.
“Mr. Zuckerberg, you and the companies before us — I know you don’t mean it to be so, but you have blood on your hands,” Graham declared.
His words were met with applause from those present.
“You have a product — you have a product that’s killing people. When we had cigarettes killing people, we did something about it – maybe not enough. You’re going to talk about guns, we have the ATF,” the South Carolina senator added.
“Nothing here, there’s not a damn thing anybody can do about it, you can’t be sued. Now, Senator Blumenthal and Blackburn, who’ve been like the dynamic duo here, have found emails from your company where they warned you about this stuff — and you decided not to hire 45 people that could do a better job of policing this,” he added.
“So the bottom line is you can’t be sued, but you should be… The courtroom’s closed to every American abused by all the companies in front of me,” the lawmaker stressed.
Graham concluded by advocating for the repeal of Section 230, a legal provision that shields social media companies by categorizing them as platforms rather than publishers.
“What do you do with dangerous products? Either allow lawsuits — you have statutory protections to protect consumers — or you have a commission of sorts to regulate the industry in question, to take your license away if you have a license or to fine you,” he concluded.