In times past, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg personally and repeatedly thwarted efforts by Meta's management to address teen mental health dangers on the platform. Today, he made a show of apologizing for it in Congress.
Mr Zuckerberg and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew agreed to appear at the Senate hearing to be grilled for four hours. The heads of Snap, Twitter and Discord refused and were forced to testify by subpoena.
But it was Mr Zuckerberg, chief executive of Meta, who came under the most scrutiny, as he testified before Congress for an eighth time.
At one point, Republican Senator Ted Cruz asked, "Mr Zuckerberg, what the hell were you thinking?" when he showed the tech boss an Instagram prompt that warns users they may be about to see child sexual abuse material, but asks if they would like to "see the results anyway".
During another exchange with Republican Senator Josh Hawley, Mr Zuckerberg was invited to apologise to the families sitting behind him.
He stood up, turned to the audience and said: "I'm sorry for everything you've all gone through, it's terrible.
"No-one should have to go through the things that your families have suffered."
"Lots of US political grandstanding," as the BBC put it, and "the question of what happens next remains unclear."
