Amuse Productions

by Adrian Mancilla

A few short weeks ago, Congress had a hearing with some of Social Media’s leading CEO’s including, but not limited to, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, Jason Citron, CEO of Discord, Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap, Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, and Shou Zi Chew, CEO of Tik Tok. This was a follow up of what occurred back in March 2023 where the door was opened to the possibility of an ongoing battle of not only limiting social media, but potentially banning some of the biggest ones here in the US. Tik Tok being one of the biggest aggressors, according to Congress, which brought about the topic of potential exploitation and paranoia of children and younger adults in general being exposed to certain sexual content, as well as users in general being lured by posts about fake content and AI-made videos. The reason I wanted to pick this subject is because it becomes very relevant in the aspects of the usage rate of social media in the modern age and how we’re still learning to regulate the internet altogether by keeping up with its algorithm. Not only that but it is vital for journalists to keep an eye on these types of subjects as they maintain a heading and knowledge of what we may be impacted upon on our day-to-day life. I also wanted to make this about the pictures that are represented from this event as I feel they add the most context possible and provide the clearest picture of them all, no pun intended.

1. The Scene Setter

The moment before the storm is what I would call this. All five tech giant CEOs are being sworn in for this talk that ends up getting a lot more heated than most would have anticipated. What’s so interesting about this picture and what is really told as the forefront is the missing aspect of the US Senate being selected to hear out these CEOs which adds this sense of uncertainty, a mood setter for how this talk will be going on for the next few months, the faces we will now set for these companies moving forward, and the lasting impression we get. The expressions we now associate with the topics of exploitation and misinformation on the internet, at least when it comes to the issues, but it’s almost as if these companies have a vulnerability after all. An actual face to these companies and the personification of these tech companies really shows the power behind this hearing. The framing of this picture for this moment is perfect, as it shows the power of the internet, all set in one room.

2. Portrait Shot

This shot is basically out of a movie. The expressionless face of Zuckerberg and yet somehow the fear that still rests in his eyes has so much power, the future of the internet and social media may rest on these talks, and we get vigilance and terror as the truth about certain aspects of the internet come out. This was happening during the opening statement, so what we do not see pictured is the US Senate fumbling to ask their questions filled with paranoia and uncertainty, which in actually adds more build up to this image as a whole. The type of shot we get is this frame that captures in irony, how small these regular sized CEOs are in a large sized court room.

3. Medium Shot

This picture is a very telling one of the authority figures that are composing this type of issue and act as the face of the US which allows the representation to be placed in the hands of these senators which we trust enough to place them in office. As it stands with the image itself, we get to see the emotion being displayed as dialogue is being displayed, which is also coincidentally since they are sitting, a pic from above the waist, essentially a way that we see the talking heads that are adding to this dialogue, whether they speak for the common man or not, is really only foretold through the eyes of these senators, with the shot being perfectly placed behind these CEOs it adds a sense of the unknown as well. We are unaware of what their facial expressions are to these allegations or comments that are being regarded, which is ironic but fitting for these social media giants to be unrepresented from this picture, as if speaking to the app and not the representative.

4. Detail Shot

This detail shot is a little bit different to what we’re used to. In this frame we get a close up shot of Mark Zuckerberg, but what’s most interesting the background of the picture itself. That person standing on the second floor looking down on this hearing is almost a symbolization of America as a whole as we feel a bit less in control and a bit more in fear than usual. We feel disappointed towards the accountability of some of these tech giants and feel the need to judge them based on their reactions to the severity of this situation. What we don’t see in this picture is really the rest of the setting as a whole, yet somehow we don’t need to see it to believe what is going on and how to feel about it, because that person on that balcony with their hands on their hips, almost as if a disappointed parent expecting the worst excuse and not believe a single word of it.

5. Action Shot

The most prominent we get to see and the one that ties in that very picture at the top. The way that Zuckerberg is turned to the audience of people holding up their pictures, with every single eye in that room on him, some expressionless, some eager to see what will be addressed and Meta as a whole will respond for the carelessness that is being brought forth as the topic of discussion. Although, we may not see what the Senators at this hearing or other fellow CEOs may be doing in this moment, besides X CEO Yaccarino, we’re sure to know that they are all watching Zuckerberg as well. The framing of this picture captures a lot as well, as if it was in a 4:3 aspect ratio, more in a portrait ratio, we probably won’t be seeing as much emotion as we may see here.

Conclusion –

As it stands, this hearing actually didn’t really go anywhere despite it seeming much more significant than we thought it would be, but well that’s US politics for you. The interesting aspect is that, even though sympathy may be the wrong word for these billionaires, you do have to feel for them being in the hot seat, as really no one really expected the internet nor any type of social media to reach this level of global reach. The internet was considered a “fad” when Twitter (now X) became a thing, Facebook was supposed to be a much more personal experience, as well as Snapchat and Discord, yet when the wrong people get a hold of the types of tools that help them exploit their wrongdoings, its hard to keep up. Take for instance the number we’ve seen previously where YouTube itself, according to Statista.com, has over 500 hours of videos uploaded per day, which all in all, how is it possible to monitor more than 20 days worth of videos, all in one 24 hour period or one day? It’s simply impossible to try to keep up with it, however is it possible to target certain things on platforms? Absolutely. If platforms chose to target certain topics that lead to not only exploitation, sexual misconduct, misinformation, and all in all recognizing scams and fake videos, we can go one by one and continue to learn from the way regular people interact with certain profiles that may have a bit less of a genuine aspect to it than others, we can pinpoint exact ways to combat against any form of exploitation, however that also brings another issue, how do we extract that data? Well, the only way would be to be as hands on as possible, it doesn’t have to be a huge sample size, especially with the now over 3 billion users on Facebook, according to Backlinko.com, as well as Facebook reporting in Q4 of their summit hearings that over 1.5 billion users had been removed in 2023 alone, we have a long way to go, but it has to be a marriage between families and adults in general being a bit more sensical and doubtful of most data they find online, and kids and young adults being a lot more aware of their surroundings online. In that case, we need role models to step forward and promote online safety to the max, whether it truly be these CEOs or maybe others we may never expect, we do need voices to come forward and allow the internet to be much more serene.

Sources Cited –

Ceci, L. (2024, February 13). Youtube: Hours of video uploaded every minute 2022. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/259477/hours-of-video-uploaded-to-youtube-every-minute

Dean, B. (2024, February 23). Facebook User & Growth Statistics to know in 2024. Backlinko. https://backlinko.com/facebook-users