Parents at Big Tech Hearing Tell CNN They Were Not Impressed With Zuckerberg’s Apology: ‘Awkward and Uncomfortable’

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg may have gone viral by standing up during Wednesday’s hearing on social media safety, but two parents who were present were unconvinced that he was genuine.

While speaking to CNN’s Poppy Harlow and Phil Mattingly on Thursday, Robert and Rose Bronstein, the parents of a teenager who died by suicide after being bullied on Snapchat, made it very clear that Zuckerberg’s apology was misdirected. Mattingly asked them how they felt about the moment:

Mattingly: Rob, you heard the the apologies from, the apologies that were presented by Mark Zuckerberg and [Snapchat CEO] Evan Spiegel. That was a remarkable moment from the Zuckerberg perspective because so much of the testimony is practiced, prepared, canned, to be candid with you. And that wasn’t, but it also wasn’t a direct apology to the families for the company’s actions. It was an apology for what people had been through. What was that like in the room?

Rob Bronstein: Well, I appreciate you pointing that out because, number one, it was only because Senator [Josh Hawley (R-MO)] clearly shamed him into it. And it was as awkward and uncomfortable as you might expect. And again, it was not an apology on the part of the CEO and founder of, you know, one of the largest companies in the world for the harm that that company had caused. It was, to paraphrase, “I’m sorry for what you’re feeling. I’m sorry for what you’re going through.”

That’s not an apology. It’s certainly not the apology that was appropriate. It wasn’t genuine. It was forced with TV cameras rolling. I get that it’s a moment that’s going viral and it will be the sound bite. But let’s read the words carefully, and I have several times, and it is most definitely not an apology for the actions that Facebook has done and for the harm it’s caused.

Watch the video above via CNN.

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