VIDEO: Blackburn Lays Bare Zuckerberg’s ‘Litany of Lies’ to the American People

VIDEO: Blackburn Lays Bare Zuckerberg’s ‘Litany of Lies’ to the American People May 14, 2026 ‘Meta's record when it comes to protecting children online is indefensible.’ ‘I doubt we have somebody from Meta in the room today who wants to defend Meta on the lies.’ WASHINGTON, D.C. – 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’s long record of lies and deceit. Excerpts of Senator Blackburn’s remarks during the hearing are below, and you can watch the full hearing here . Click here to download Senator Blackburn’s opening statement . EXCERPTS OF HEARING REMARKS Landmark Social Media Verdicts Prove Meta’s Record on Protecting Kids Is Indefensible “For too long, families who sought justice were turned away at the courthouse doors as Big Tech CEOs hid behind the shield of Section 230.” “The tide is beginning to turn, and these recent verdicts signal a shift.” “Meta has done everything in its power to keep Mr. Zuckerberg from the witness stand, and after his testimony in this case, we know why.” “Meta's record when it comes to protecting children online is indefensible.” “These 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.” Zuckerberg Lied About Link Between Social Media Use and Worse Mental Health Outcomes “When [Zuckerberg] was before this Committee in 2024, he said, ‘The 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.’” “The truth on this is that Meta had a document called, ‘Known negative effects of Facebook and/or social media in general, on teens.’ Meta’s document even noted some of those negative effects, including increased sleep disruption, anxiety, body image pressure, and depression.” “Despite 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.” “He 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.” Zuckerberg Lied About Prevalence of Users Under Age 13 on Instagram “I want to go to another one… Zuckerberg said, ‘We don't allow people under age 13 on our service.’” “I doubt we have somebody from Meta in the room today who wants to defend Meta on the lies.” “Compare that with their document that shows they had four million children under the age of 13 on Instagram alone in 2015… 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.” “Mr. Zuckerberg's testimony was a blatant lie.” Zuckerberg Lied About Addictive Nature of Meta’s Products “When [Zuckerberg] was before us for a congressional hearing, and we were talking about addictive products… his comment was, ‘We 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.’” “He knew he was lying.” “[In 2015], his own email that he sent out on company goals lists, ‘Time spent increases by 12%.’” “In 2026, they still had goals for teen time spent.” RELATED Blackburn, Blumenthal Announce OpenAI Endorsement of Kids Online Safety Act Ahead of Senate Hearing on Landmark Social Media Verdicts PHOTO: Blackburn Joins Parents Urging Congress to Pass Kids Online Safety Act at Mother’s Day Rally B l ackburn Statement on Landmark Social Media Addiction Case Verdict B l ackburn, Blumenthal, Thune, and Schumer Introduce the Kids Online Safety Act https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2026/5/video-blackburn-lays-bare-zuckerberg-s-litany-of-lies-to-the-american-people