Durbin rips big tech, says they're not doing enough to protect children

CHICAGO - Five tech CEOs are set to testify on Wednesday about the crisis of online child sexual exploitation.

Ahead of the hearing, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin made clear his disappointment about what big tech companies have done so far.

Senator Durbin's speech on the Senate floor Tuesday could be seen as a preview for what's going to happen at the Judiciary Committee hearing tomorrow. He said the new child safety measures some companies launched as recently as last week are long overdue, but don't go far enough.

Invited to the hearing on Wednesday are the CEOs of Facebook and Instagram's parent company "Meta," Discord, Snapchat, TikTok, and "X." All five of those companies are named on the National Center on Sexual Exploitation's annual "Dirty Dozen" list for facilitating child sexual exploitation.

"It should not take a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee to finally get these companies to prioritize child safety. Because these changes are half measures at best, I welcome the opportunity to question them about what more needs to be done. There have been recent, troubling reports on how each of these platforms is being used by offenders to target children or trade child sexual abuse material. Some reports even detail how the platforms promote exploitative behavior," Durbin said.

Senator Durbin is urging colleagues to update the Communications Decency Act by removing a provision he says shields tech companies from accountability for the damage they cause.