Duchess Meghan, Prince Harry share emotional message after Senate hearing on online safety

Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry are standing with the families of children negatively affected by the pitfalls of social media.

"We applaud the bravery and determination of the thousands of parents around the country whose advocacy resulted in this hearing," the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said in a statement on the Archwell Foundation's website Wednesday.

The couple's foundation has called for social media platforms to adopt better content-moderation policies and other fixes, saying modifications need to be made to addictive apps that can harm young people’s mental health.

"Over the past few years, we have spent time with many of these families, listening to their heartache and their hopes for the urgent change that is needed in the online space," Harry, 39, and Meghan, 42, continued. "This is an issue that transcends division and party lines, as we saw today at the Senate hearing.

"The best parenting in the world cannot keep children safe from these platforms," the statement read.

They ended their statement with a quote from a father whose child had been affected by the harmful aspects of social media: "If love could have saved them, all of our children would still be here. This is not the time to pass the buck of responsibility. It’s the time to make necessary change at the source to keep our children safe."

Congress goes after CEOs at hearing on social media and kids

Harry and Meghan's statement came after the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on online safety for children on Wednesday.

In the middle of the tense Senate hearing on the dangers of social media, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stood, turned around and faced families who have accused his platforms, Facebook and Instagram, of harming their children.

"I'm sorry for everything you have all been through," Zuckerberg said. "No one should go through the things that your families have suffered, and this is why we invest so much and we are going to continue doing industry-leading efforts to make sure no one has to go through the things your families have had to suffer."

The rare public apology came amid scathing criticism from lawmakers and child advocates who say the industry for years has failed to protect its most vulnerable users from abuse and exploitation.

Throughout the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Congress chastised the leaders of some of the nation's top social media companies and called on them to take immediate steps to protect children and teens online.

TikTok, Snap, X and MetaCEOs grilled at tense Senate hearing on social media and kids

Last fall, Meghan and Harry spoke at a panel discussion coordinated by their Archewell Foundation in New York City as part of a second annual mental health awareness festival hosted by a nonprofit called Project Healthy Minds. The panel featured a handful of parents who lost their children due to mental health challenges tied to social media use. The parents spoke about their loss and how a community that the foundation has created to talk about these issues is helping them find support.

Harry said at the time the foundation has been bringing parents together through Zoom during the past year because many of them didn’t have the opportunity to connect with others who’ve gone through a similar tragedy.

"For us, the priority here is to turn pain into purpose," he said at the panel.

Contributing: Bailey Schulz, USA TODAY; Haleluya Hadero, The Associated Press

Prince Harry, Duchess Meghanspeak out on social media's effect on mental health: 'Children are dying'