Senate Judiciary Chairman Grassley Summons Tech CEOs to June Child Safety Hearing

Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has invited the CEOs of Meta, Alphabet, TikTok, and Snap to testify at a June 23, 2026, oversight hearing examining social media risks to children and teenagers. The hearing, titled "Examining Tech Industry Practices and the Implications for Users and Families: Is This Social Media's Big Tobacco Moment?", will press executives on their progress protecting young users since their last Capitol Hill appearance in January 2024.

The summons follows mounting legal pressure on the platforms. In March, juries in California and New Mexico held Meta and YouTube accountable for designing addictive platforms and concealing harms to children's mental health. Meta was ordered to pay $375 million in civil penalties in New Mexico over child exploitation claims, while a separate California verdict resulted in a $6 million judgment against Meta and Alphabet. Thousands of additional lawsuits remain pending in California.

For TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, the hearing would mark his first congressional appearance since ByteDance finalized a deal to split the U.S. app from its global business to avoid a national ban. Senator Dick Durbin emphasized the need for a bipartisan effort to question executives, while committee members Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal are pushing legislation to increase corporate responsibility for youth safety. The hearing date coincides with the proposed Social Media Harms Victim Remembrance Day, an initiative led by families of children who died due to social media-related harms.