The White House intervened to try to keep Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai from appearing at a Senate hearing on their companies’ child safety rules, five people with knowledge of the matter told POLITICO.
Instead, Supreme Court Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has agreed to allow the heads of tech giants Instagram and YouTube to testify in lieu of executives at a hearing next month.scheduled for July 28four people said. And for its part, the White House supports a package of bills backed by Grassley — called the James T. Woods Act — aimed at combating online child exploitation, they added.
The five people, who were not directly involved in the talks between the White House and the tech companies, were granted anonymity to discuss private negotiations. Four of the people cautioned that the list of executives testifying at the hearing is not yet complete and could be changed.
The White House’s involvement, which has not been reported before, shows the ability of big tech companies to strengthen their cooperation with President Donald Trump’s administration, even under intense scrutiny from lawmakers and courts about the impact of their platforms on society.
“Chairman Grassley doesn’t just want to generate clicks and views like the hearings of the past. He’s working to get legislation that saves a child’s life into law,” a Grassley spokesperson told POLITICO. “The Grassley-Durbin James T. Woods Act is bipartisan and has broad support because it is recognized around the world that this bill will save children’s lives. Chairman Grassley is committed to being an effective senator, managing Big Tech and getting laws that protect America’s children.”
A spokesman for Meta declined to comment. A Google spokesperson said the company “did not cooperate with the White House during the hearing or ask them to intervene.”
A White House official said the administration supports the bipartisan James T. Woods Act because it would strengthen federal laws against online child abuse, create new criminal offenses targeting technology-enabled abuse and direct a review of sentencing guidelines to ensure that punishments reflect the seriousness of the crime. The official said it is normal for the White House to support such a measure, which is based on the Take It Down Act S. 146 (119) and other efforts to combat child sexual abuse material and protect children online.
Grassley beforecalled Zuckerberg, Pichaiand the top executives of TikTok and Snap to testify in next month’s trial, which he claims will examine the question “Is This the Big Time for Social Media?” The lawsuit is expected to focus on children’s online safety, according to three people.
It comes at a time when social media companies are facing multiple lawsuits under the lawsimilar types of product liability lawstates that were previously targeting cigarette manufacturers, a situation that shows signs of the spread of AI. A series of recent cases include a March ruling in which a California jury found that Meta and YouTube negligently designed addictive systems thatharm childrenand the New Mexico case where the jury found Metaresponsible for endangering children.
People representing Meta met with White House staff about the hearing in late May and early June, according to three people with knowledge of the events.
In discussions with committee staff, representatives of Meta and Google expressed concern that the hearings would exacerbate the negative attention generated by recent allegations of online safety for children, they added.
After some back-and-forth, the White House agreed to publicly support Grassley’s James T. Woods Act on the condition that Grassley allow junior executives from Meta and Google to testify, according to the three people.
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan would appear at Google while Adam Moseri, head of Instagram, would represent Zuckerberg.,four people said. That committeealso expectsSnap CEO Evan Spiegel and CEO of American-owned venture firm TikTok, Adam Presser,to testifyPOLITICO reported Tuesday.
Committee members can still call Zuckerberg and Pichai to compel their attendance. At the same time, Meta is pushing for an even lesser-known executive than Mosseri to appear, one of the people said.
Congressional committees have previously subpoenaed CEOs of Big Tech companies to testify before Congress, includingon children’s online safetyin 2023.
In January 2024, former Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and ranking member Lindsey Graham (RS.C.) worked together to push tech CEOsappear in sessionwhere Zuckerberg stood fast and apologized to the relatives of children injured by social networks.
Since then, Meta and Google have made a concerted effort to develop their relationship with Trump and his White House.
Tech leaders, including those at Meta, have pledged to help Trumpto pay for his new ballroom at the White House. Meta and Googleeveryone contributed $1 millionfor Trump’s inauguration fund, and Zuckerberg and Pichai were given prime seats at Trump’s inauguration. Soon, Zuckerberg wasto be seen in the crowdat this month’s karate fight on the grounds of the White House.
Jordain Carney and Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.
