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Tech CEOs Grilled At U.S. Senate Child Safety Online Hearing; Explorers Say They Think They`ve Found Amelia Earhart`s Long-Lost Plane; How Right is Punxsutawney Phil? Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired February 02, 2024 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hello sunshine. Happy Friday, Friyay. It`s February 2nd, Groundhog`s Day. Let`s go fast. Let`s go fun. Get you all
kinds of knowledge and information in the best 10 minutes in news. I`m Coy Wire. This is CNN 10, where we tell you the what, letting you decide what
to think.
Chief executives of some of the biggest social media companies testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week in front of some families
who say they`ve lost loved ones because of social media.
Executives of Meta, TikTok, Snap, Discord, and X, formerly known as Twitter, were peppered with difficult questions about the risks that their
products may pose to young people. We`ll turn to CNN`s Tom Foreman, who highlights this tense hearing.
And as we watch, try to think critically about this dilemma. Who all is responsible for the harm that can be caused by social media companies
platforms? What would you suggest that the companies themselves and users can do to maybe mitigate the risks involved? Should Congress pass laws to
protect users? What would you do to make these platforms safer?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R-SC): But you have blood on your hands.
SEN. JOSH HAWLEY, (R-MO): Your product is killing people. Will you set up a victims` compensation fund with your money? The money you made on these
families sitting behind you. Yes or no?
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, whose company owns Instagram, pushed into apologizing to families
who say they were harmed by online content, some waving pictures of children who died or killed themselves.
It was an astonishing moment, yet the billionaire head of Meta dug in anyway.
MARK ZUCKERBERG, META CEO: And this is why we invested so much and we are going to continue doing industry-leading efforts to make sure that no one
has to go through the types of things your families have had to suffer.
SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, (D-OH): Your platforms really suck at policing themselves.
FOREMAN: Against a torrent of accusations from the Senate committee about enabling sexual exploitation, election meddling, fake news, drug abuse and
child endangerment, the heads of five tech giants tried to push back.
JASON CITRON, CEO, DISCORD: We very much believe that this content is disgusting.
LINDA YACCARINO, X CEO: X will be active and a part of this solution.
FOREMAN: But the fury kept coming in a rare show of unity between Democrats --
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR, (D-MN): One-third of fentanyl cases investigated over five months had direct ties to social media.
FOREMAN: -- and Republicans.
HAWLEY: 37$ of teenage girls between 13 and 15 were exposed to unwanted nudity in a week on Instagram. You knew about it. Who did you fire?
ZUCKERBERG: Senator, this is why we`re building all these rules.
HAWLEY: Who did you fire?
ZUCKERBERG: I`m not going to answer that.
FOREMAN: There was plenty of heat to go around as the tech bosses were scorched with claims their products promoting anxiety, depression and
violence, especially among young people.
SEN. MARSHA BLACKBURN, (R-TN): Children are not your priority. Children are your product.
FOREMAN: But no one was hit harder than Zuckerberg, whose attempts at defense at times were literally laughed at.
ZUCKERBERG: My understanding is that we don`t allow sexually explicit content on the service for people of any age.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How is that going?
ZUCKERBERG: You know, our --
SEN. CHRIS COONS, (D-DE): Is there any one of you willing to say now that you support this bill?
FOREMAN: Many of the lawmakers are intent on overturning a longstanding federal law that immunizes those companies from lawsuits over user-
generated content and putting tough regulations in place.
KLOBUCHAR: It`s time to actually pass them. And the reason they haven`t passed is because of the power of your company. So, let`s be really, really
clear about that.
FOREMAN: And while the tech bosses say they`re happy to work on safeguards skepticism ran rampant.
GRAHAM: Nothing will change until the courtroom door is open to victims of social media.
FOREMAN: Sometimes in hearings like this, lawmakers seem like they just don`t understand how tech really works. But, they do understand human
suffering. They know the political power of that. And they know how to count votes, as one of them noted today, and Big Tech could be on the wrong
side of the next one and facing regulations like never before.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Pop quiz hot shot.
In the U.S., women make up what percentage of licensed pilots?
Fewer than 10%, fewer than 20%, nearly 50%, nearly 75%.
Answer is fewer than 10%, according to a recent Women in Aviation Advisory Board report for the Federal Aviation Administration.
A team of underwater archeologists and marine robotics experts believe they found a clue to what happened to aviation legend Amelia Earhart, who`s
plain mysteriously went missing 87 years ago. Earhart was a pilot who broke both gender stereotypes and aviation records, becoming the first woman to
fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, and first pilot to fly solo and nonstop across the U.S.
Her final flight on July 2nd, 1937, became one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in American history. She had an ambitious goal to become the
first woman to fly around the world and made it two thirds of the way. Then Amelia`s plane went missing. But as CNN`s Jeremy Roth explains, a group of
deep-sea explorers believe they found the plane.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A group of Deep-Sea explorers say a sonar image captured in the middle of the Pacific Ocean may reveal Amelia
Earhart`s long-lost final flight. Using cutting-edge sonar imaging tech, the South Carolina-based Deep Sea Vision team scanned more than 5,000 miles
of ocean floor before capturing an image showing an anomaly more than 16,000 feet underwater that matches the size and features of the Lockheed
10-E Electra Earhart was piloting when the pioneering aviator went missing nearly 87 years ago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The twin vertical stabilizers in the back are very clear on the sonar image and those were very distinctive of Amelia
Earhart`s aircraft and we were very happy to see those.
ROTH: At this point, the findings are still speculative, but have already attracted the attention of prominent aviation experts who say the
intriguing findings warrant a return expedition. The Deep Sea Vision team hopes more information could help them bring closure to one of American
history`s great mysteries.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Today`s story getting a 10 out of 10, Groundhog Day, every year on February 2nd, an event dating back to the 19th Century takes place in my
home State of Pennsylvania in the town of Punxsutawney, the so-called Weather Capital of the World.
Members of the local Groundhog Club, yes, they`re such a thing, dress in hats and tuxedos and await the hero of the day. Punxsutawney Phil. The
crowd gathers to see whether Phil will see his shadow upon arising from his burrow.
According to old Pennsylvania Dutch superstition, if he does, it means six more weeks of winter. If not, it`s said that spring will come early. Our
meteorologist Allison Chinchar is here for more details. And you may remember, Ms. Alli always matches her graphics or the weather theme of the
day and for this special day, she breaks out her famous Punxsutawney Phil hat.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That`s right Coy. Today is the day, the famous Punxsutawney Phil will make his predictions for whether or not
we will have six more weeks of winter or perhaps in early spring.
Now, in the past he has had a wide variety of predictions, but here`s the thing. He has seen his shadow way more times than he has not. You`re
talking over a hundred times. He has seen his shadow just since 1887. About a fifth of that he has not seen his shadow, meaning we would have an early
spring.
But the real question is, is he accurate? Is he even right when he makes these predictions? Technically speaking, statistically Phil is only right
about 40% of the time, so not exactly a great forecaster, but the good news is, regardless of what Phil actually picks, if you don`t like it, chances
are there`s another groundhog across the country somewhere that will give you the prediction you do want to hear, including some pretty colorful
names like General Beauregard Lee in Georgia, Staten Island Chuck in New York, Illinois, Wisconsin and Ohio also have some very interesting name
groundhogs, which will also make their predictions later today.
WIRE: Thank you, Alli. You got to let me borrow that hat one day.
All right, lovely people. Thanks for learning with me this week. And I appreciate all the love for those who found me on social media. And for
those of you who sent me some mail, our CNN Overlook Mailbox is full.
I want to give a special shout out today. This one goes to Fort Sam Houston School in San Antonio, Texas. Thank you for the swag and all the
autographs, Cougars, we see you. This makes my heart smile.
And this shout out goes to Belle Chasse High School and all the Fighting Cardinals in Belle Chasse, Louisiana. Rise up, Superstars. All right, go on
out and shine bright from your small corner of the earth this weekend. Even if it`s just a smile, you can be the love that someone needs.
Remember, you are more powerful than you know. I`m Coy Wire. It`s been a blessing to learn this week with you.
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