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Zuckerberg Forced To Apologise To US Parents Over Online Sexual Exploitation

Published

3 months ago

February 2, 2024

The chief executive officer of Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Mark Zuckerberg was forced to apologise to the parents of children who killed themselves after being subjected to online sexual exploitation.

Zuckerberg made the apologies at the United States Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the safety of children online on Wednesday.

“It’s terrible. No one should have to go through the things that your families have suffered,” Zuckerberg said to the parents behind him at the request of Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri.

“And this is why we invest so much and are going to continue doing industry-leading efforts to make sure that no one has to go through the things your families have had to suffer.”

The CEOs of the five major social media companies were grilled by the US senators.

Dozens of mourning parents attended Wednesday’s Senate judiciary committee hearing, Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis, many of them holding photographs of the children who died after falling prey to abusers on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.

Executives in attendance were Meta CEO Zuckerberg, Snap CEO Spiegel, X (formerly Twitter) CEO Linda Yaccarino, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew and Discord CEO Jason Citron.

Members of Congress questioned them for four hours, in exchanges that became heated on several occasions.

At the beginning of the hearing, each CEO gave a speech that outlined their position on their company’s competence in protecting children online.

Zuckerberg drew criticism from the parents for using his opening remarks to deny any relationship between social media usage and declines in mental health.

“The existing body of scientific work has not shown a causal link between using social media and young people having worse mental health,” Zuckerberg told the crowded room.

Lori Schott, a bereaved mother from Colorado, said she cried when she heard Zuckerberg’s comments.

“They lack a moral compass; it is profits over the kids. Where there’s money, there’s greed,” she said.

Schott’s daughter Annalee was 18 when she died by suicide. According to Schott, Analee’s mental health deteriorated after consuming content on depression, anxiety and suicide that was recommended to her on TikTok and Instagram.

“She even saw a live suicide on the ‘For You’ page on TikTok. You can’t unsee that. It ate at her internally,” said Schott.

In the culmination of a tense exchange, Josh Hawley, the Republican senator, invited Zuckerberg to apologise to the parents of victims in the audience, many of whom held photos of children they say died or suffered because of his platform. Zuckerberg stood up to face the families and offered his condolences.

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VIDEO: Nigerian Man Exhumed After Completing 24-hour Buried Alive Challenge

Published

31 mins ago

May 9, 2024

Editor

After being buried alive for 24 hours, a Nigerian man, Young C, has been successfully exhumed after spending 24 hours buried alive in a coffin.

This feat was announced on his Instagram account on Thursday afternoon, accompanied by the revelation that his TikTok account had been suspended.

Earlier, Young C had updated his Instagram account, reassuring his followers that he was still alive and in good condition, despite experiencing physical discomfort and running out of water.

Young C embarked on this challenge on Wednesday, announcing his intention to be buried alive for 24 hours and broadcasting live footage from the coffin at night.

Young C’s feat bears resemblance to a similar challenge undertaken by American YouTuber MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson), who spent 50 hours buried alive two years ago to raise awareness about deforestation. Recently, MrBeast attempted to surpass his record by spending 7 consecutive days buried in a coffin, overcoming physical and mental challenges before being exhumed.

Watch video below courtesy The PUNCH:

𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎: 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐧, 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐂, 𝐄𝐱𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟐𝟒-𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞
After being buried alive for 24 hours, a Nigerian man, Young C, has been successfully exhumed after spending 24 hours… pic.twitter.com/lyJxQ9ZvRx
— Punch Newspapers (@MobilePunch) May 9, 2024

News

JUST IN: Panic As Oyo Demolishes Shops In Popular Ibadan Market

Published

3 hours ago

May 9, 2024

Editor

Panic gripped residents and traders of the popular Ojoo market in the Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State as the government demolished scores of shops and kiosks in the area, on Thursday.

The PUNCH gathered that the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development had served the traders quit notice a long time ago but they refused to move out of the market.

The Chairman of the market, Muhdeen Ganiyu, fondly called Elewedu, however, told our correspondent that the quit notice was too short but the executive members of all the affected markers would meet after the demolition exercise.

“The quit notice was too short. All executive members of all the affected markers will soon meet. So, I cannot say anything for now,” he stated.

When contacted, the Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Williams Akin-Funmilayo, confirmed the ongoing demolition exercise.

He said, “The State Governor, Seyi Makinde, had gone there personally to address them. The government will provide another place. That place is dangerous. And the new place is not far. Just at the front of the Barracks.”

More pictures from the demolition courtesy The PUNCH:

Details later…