SANTA MONICA, California, May 15, 2026, 10:04 PDT
- Snap CEO Evan Spiegel received an invitation to appear before the Senate in June for a hearing focused on children’s online safety.
- Lawmakers are turning up the heat on social-media companies over teen safety, lawsuits, and the role of AI oversight as the hearing unfolds.
- Snap shares moved up Friday. Still, concerns about sluggish North American user growth and uncertainty in the ad market continue to weigh on the company.
Snap Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel is heading to Capitol Hill again, with lawmakers calling him to testify at a June hearing focused on children’s online safety. The Snapchat parent company will appear alongside Meta, Alphabet and TikTok, as scrutiny from U.S. regulators ramps up.
Why does the invitation matter? Washington is running out of patience with social-media platforms. Last year, no fewer than 20 states put laws on the books targeting kids and social media—even as Congress hasn’t passed a comprehensive federal law for the industry.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley has called on Spiegel, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, and TikTok’s Shou Zi Chew to appear, according to Grassley spokeswoman Hannah Akey, cited by Reuters. Axios put out that the June 23 hearing carries the title, “Examining Tech Industry Practices and the Implications for Users and Families: Is This Social Media’s Big Tobacco Moment?” Reuters
Akey told Axios the committee still hasn’t received official RSVPs from the CEOs, but talks are ongoing. Snap wouldn’t comment to Reuters about the congressional invites.
The hearing would hit as Snap works to stabilize operations after a choppy first quarter. Revenue climbed 12% year-over-year to $1.53 billion, while net loss tightened to $89 million from $140 million. Adjusted EBITDA reached $233 million, excluding interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
In the results, Spiegel pointed out Snap’s “return to growth in daily active users,” saying the company is sticking with “disciplined execution.” Globally, daily active users reached 483 million. But North America told a different story: daily actives dropped 7% from a year ago, coming in at 92 million. Snap Inc. Investor Relations
This hearing comes at a rough moment for Snap. North America remains critical for ad revenue, and it’s exactly this audience—young users—that lawmakers are zeroing in on, the same group Snapchat has always counted on.
Competition isn’t letting up. Meta, Alphabet’s YouTube, and TikTok all boast bigger ad machines, more influence in Washington, and sprawling product suites. Snap, meanwhile, is still working to convince the market that its ads, subscriptions, and AR features can actually drive results. The Senate’s invitation puts all four firms together in the public-safety spotlight—though Snap faces a much narrower margin for missteps.
Regulators aren’t just active in the U.S. Australia rolled out its under-16 social-media ban in December 2025. Elsewhere, Britain, Denmark, France, Greece, Poland and Spain are either discussing or getting ready to put their own limits in place for younger users. Platforms like Snapchat officially set the minimum age at 13, but advocates for child safety say that’s not being strictly enforced.
At a Judiciary subcommittee hearing on May 13, Grassley stressed that recent verdicts involving allegedly addictive social media platforms made clear Congress has to step up to protect kids online. “Meaningful action,” he argued, needs to include oversight and legislation. Senate Judiciary Committee
So far, markets aren’t signaling much concern over a near-term federal crackdown. The ElectionOdds market, run by Kalshi, is showing just a 15% chance that the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) will be enacted before 2027. KOSA would force online platforms to take reasonable steps when designing features that could harm minors.
But Snap faces a big risk here: political tides can shift fast in the wake of a televised hearing. A rough grilling, new details from litigation, or if Congress suddenly gets on the same page, all of that could mean higher compliance bills, required tweaks to product design, or skittish advertisers—especially when it comes to anything aimed at younger users.
Snap stock added 2.9% to $5.515 on Friday, valuing the company at roughly $9.3 billion. The uptick didn’t show any real panic in the shares, though the bigger challenge ahead might not be advertising. Pressure could soon shift to Washington.
