TikTok, Snapchat seek to distance themselves from Facebook

Executives from TikTok and Snapchat on Tuesday sought to distance themselves from Facebook during their first appearances at a Capitol Hill hearing, as senators pressed them on the impact of their platforms have on young users.

Snapchat is designed around temporary posts, and unlike Facebook and Twitters its messages and posts disappear after set times, Snapchat Vice President of Global Public Policy Jennifer Stout emphasized.

Stout used the same argument to defend the app’s filters, including so-called beautification filters that can be used to make users look thinner, add the appearance of makeup, or change their skin. 

Stout said filters can “lower the barrier” for conversations between friends to communicate in fun and authentic ways. 

TikTok Vice President and Head of Public Policy for the Americas Michael Beckerman stressed that TikTok is a platform for entertainment, and distanced the popular video sharing app by saying it does not use “like” buttons and comments. 

Senators seemed nonplussed by at least some of those efforts.

“Being different from Facebook is not a defense. That bar is in the gutter. It’s not a defense to say that you are different,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), the chairman of the Senate Commerce consumer protection subcommittee. 

The witnesses, who also included YouTube Vice President of Government Affairs & Public Policy Leslie Miller, defended the algorithms used to recommend videos on their platforms widely, as well as specifically to young users. 

Stout, for example, said the Discover feature on Snapchat shows shows content based on interest preferences the user selects in the app, and not by an algorithm based on the user’s information or use of the app. She also said the app shows only content deemed age appropriate to users. 

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), however, said that when his office created an account for a fictional 15-year-old user, without choosing any of the interest preferences, the app displayed age inappropriate content in Discover including advertisements for sexualized video games marketed for users 18 and up and “articles about porn stars.”

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) asked each executive whether they would support aspects of two bills he’s proposed. One would update the Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA) to give youth more privacy protection online. It would prohibit companies from collecting personal information from users aged 13 to 15 without the user’s consent.

When the executives did not give him “yes” or “no” answers, Markey chastised them. 

“This is just what drives us crazy, ‘we want to talk, want to talk, want to talk.’ This bill’s been out there for years and you still don’t have a view on it,” Markey said. 

He also pushed companies on whether they would support changing the design features as laid out in the KIDS Act, which he reintroduced this year with Blumenthal. The bill would ban “auto-play” settings, “like” buttons, and push alerts for apps.

Going forward, the subcommittee is looking to get potential research the companies have conducted on the impact of their products on young users. Blumenthal asked each company to submit any research on the topic — as he did with Facebook before such studies were leaked by the company whistleblower. 

The committee is also looking to hold a further hearing on Facebook’s impact on users. Last week he sent a letter to Facebook calling for CEO Mark Zuckeberg or Instagram head Adam Mosseri to appear before the panel.