Washington — A Senate committee has issued bipartisan subpoenas to the CEOs of Discord, Snap and X demanding that the heads of the three companies testify at a December hearing on protecting children online.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the panel, announced Monday that they had issued the subpoenas to Discord CEO Jason Citron, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel and Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X, formerly known as Twitter, "after repeated refusals to appear" during weeks of negotiations.
"Big Tech's failure to police itself at the expense of our kids cannot go unanswered," the two senators said in a statement.
The committee said that "in a remarkable departure from typical practice," Discord and X refused to accept service of the subpoenas and the panel was forced to enlist the U.S. Marshals Service to personally subpoena the CEOs.
According to a statement from X, the company has been actively participating in the Judiciary committee's hearing on child sexual exploitation online. X's head of US & Canada Government Affairs, Wifredo Fernandez, emphasized that safety is their top priority and that they are committed to addressing this important issue.
Discord, another company involved in the hearing, also expressed their dedication to user safety, particularly for young people. They stated that they have been actively engaging with the Committee to contribute to the ongoing industry discussion.
The hearing, scheduled for December 6th, will focus on the issue of child sexual exploitation online. Senators Durbin and Graham have confirmed that they are in discussions with both Meta and TikTok, and they expect the CEOs of these companies, Mark Zuckerberg and Shou Zi Chew, to testify voluntarily.
Social media companies have faced criticism from lawmakers, regulators, and the public for the harm their platforms cause to children and teenagers. Recently, Meta was sued by 41 states and Washington, D.C. for knowingly designing features on Instagram and Facebook that contribute to the youth mental health crisis.
