PRESUPPOSITION AND POWER: A PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF POLITICAL SPEECH ACTS IN MARK ZUCKERBERG’S U.S. SENATE TESTIMONY

Abstrak

This study emerges from the growing tension between state institutions and global technology corporations within the sphere of digital democracy, particularly when issues of online child protection are debated in contemporary media-mediated public spaces. In this context, language no longer functions merely as a communicative tool, rather, it operates as a strategic instrument that shapes public perception, distributes responsibility, and reproduces power relations. This research aims to analyze how presupposition functions as a pragmatic mechanism in constructing and negotiating power during the U.S. Senate hearing entitled Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis (January 31, 2024), with a focus on Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony. The study employs a descriptive qualitative approach using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The data were obtained through documentary analysis of the official hearing transcript, verified against video recordings, with the unit of analysis consisting of senators’ and the CEO’s utterances. The analysis was conducted through a thematic-linguistic procedure involving the identification of presupposition triggers, the classification of speech acts, and the interpretation of power strategies. The findings reveal three dominant patterns: (1) the construction of culpability assumptions by legislative authorities, (2) defensive legitimation strategies employed by the corporate actor, and (3) structural asymmetry within the interactional format that constrains the space for response. This study contributes to strengthening the integration between pragmatics and power studies in the context of digital media and offers implications for the development of critical literacy and public communication policy in the era of global platforms.