{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2026/5/video-blackburn-lays-bare-zuckerberg-s-litany-of-lies-to-the-american-people", "VIDEO: Blackburn Lays Bare Zuckerberg\u2019s \u2018Litany of Lies\u2019 to the American People", "2026-05-14", "2026", "2026-05", "Republican", "Senate", "TN", "Marsha Blackburn", "B001243", "www.blackburn.senate.gov", "blackburn", "https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/news/cc8c80c1-d564-4bbb-93a4-f1d772346ae0", "scraper", "\u2018Meta's record when it comes to protecting children online is indefensible.\u2019\n\n\u2018I doubt we have somebody from Meta in the room today who wants to defend Meta on the lies.\u2019\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, led a hearing examining why landmark social media verdicts demand federal action to protect kids online, where she highlighted Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg\u2019s long record of lies and deceit. Excerpts of Senator Blackburn\u2019s remarks during the hearing are below, and you can watch the full hearing here.\n\nClick here to download Senator Blackburn\u2019s opening statement.\n\nEXCERPTS OF HEARING REMARKS\n\nLandmark Social Media Verdicts Prove Meta\u2019s Record on Protecting Kids Is Indefensible\n\n\u201cFor too long, families who sought justice were turned away at the courthouse doors as Big Tech CEOs hid behind the shield of Section 230.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe tide is beginning to turn, and these recent verdicts signal a shift.\u201d\n\n\u201cMeta has done everything in its power to keep Mr. Zuckerberg from the witness stand, and after his testimony in this case, we know why.\u201d\n\n\u201cMeta's record when it comes to protecting children online is indefensible.\u201d\n\n\u201cThese court cases alone are not enough, because while courts can punish past harms, it is up to Congress to prevent future harm to our children. That's why Congress must pass my Kids Online Safety Act.\u201d\n\nZuckerberg Lied About Link Between Social Media Use and Worse Mental Health Outcomes\n\n\u201cWhen [Zuckerberg] was before this Committee in 2024, he said, \u2018The existing body of scientific work has not shown a cause or a link between using social media and young people having worse mental health outcomes.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cThe truth on this is that Meta had a document called, \u2018Known negative effects of Facebook and/or social media in general, on teens.\u2019 Meta\u2019s document even noted some of those negative effects, including increased sleep disruption, anxiety, body image pressure, and depression.\u201d\n\n\u201cDespite what [Zuckerberg] said under oath, he knew this, and he was aware of what their virtual products were doing to children, but they did it anyway.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe thought he was going to go in there, and he was going to win. People called out this litany of lies that Mark Zuckerberg has been telling the American people.\u201d\n\nZuckerberg Lied About Prevalence of Users Under Age 13 on Instagram\n\n\u201cI want to go to another one\u2026 Zuckerberg said, \u2018We don't allow people under age 13 on our service.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cI doubt we have somebody from Meta in the room today who wants to defend Meta on the lies.\u201d\n\n\u201cCompare that with their document that shows they had four million children under the age of 13 on Instagram alone in 2015\u2026 That is 30% of all 10- to 12-year-olds in this country in 2015, and we know it is even more than that now.\u201d\n\n\u201cMr. Zuckerberg's testimony was a blatant lie.\u201d\n\nZuckerberg Lied About Addictive Nature of Meta\u2019s Products\n\n\u201cWhen [Zuckerberg] was before us for a congressional hearing, and we were talking about addictive products\u2026 his comment was, \u2018We certainly do not want our products to be addictive. I don't think the company should be optimizing to just encourage people to spend as much time as possible on them.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cHe knew he was lying.\u201d\n\n\u201c[In 2015], his own email that he sent out on company goals lists, \u2018Time spent increases by 12%.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cIn 2026, they still had goals for teen time spent.\u201d\n\nRELATED", 1, "2026-05-15T06:17:41Z", "2026-05-15T06:18:51Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2026/5/video-blackburn-lays-bare-zuckerberg-s-litany-of-lies-to-the-american-people"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4359129127115011, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}