At the January 31, 2024 Senate child-safety hearing, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologized to families whose children had been harmed by social media.

Mark Zuckerberg apologized during the January 31, 2024 hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he and the CEOs of four other major technology companies faced questions about child safety online. Reuters reported that Zuckerberg apologized to families at the hearing, and CNN identified the proceeding as a Senate Judiciary Committee session focused on potential harms to children and teenagers.reuters.comreuters.comMeta CEO Zuckerberg apologizes to parents at US Senate social media hearingcnn.comcnn.comJanuary 31, 2024: CEOs of Meta, X, Discord, TikTok and Snap testify before...

The apology was directed at parents and relatives in the Senate gallery whose children they said had been harmed by social media, including cases involving online exploitation and deaths that families associated with social-media use. The Guardian, The New York Times, The Washington Post, ABC News and CBS News all reported that Zuckerberg stood or turned to address the families and expressed regret for what they had experienced.theguardian.comtheguardian.comZuckerberg tells parents of social media victims at Senate hearing: ‘I’m sorry...nytimes.comnytimes.comMark Zuckerberg Addresses Families at Senate Child Safety Hearing+3 more

The wording of the claim is supported, although “harmed by social media” is a broad summary of several different kinds of alleged harm discussed at the hearing. The supplied reports describe both online exploitation and other harms claimed by families, rather than establishing that every allegation was legally or scientifically proven. That distinction does not change the core fact that Zuckerberg apologized to those families at the specified hearing.bbc.combbc.comMeta boss Mark Zuckerberg apologises to families in fiery US Senate hearingwashingtonpost.comwashingtonpost.comMeta’s Zuckerberg apologizes to child abuse victims in emotional Senate hearing+1 more