Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has revealed that the Biden administration exerted significant pressure on the company to censor COVID-19 related content on its platforms during the pandemic. In a letter to the US House Judiciary Committee, Zuckerberg stated, ‘In 2021, high-ranking officials from the Biden Administration, including the White House, repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire, and expressed a lot of frustration when we didn’t agree’.Zuckerberg expressed regret for complying with these demands and for not being more transparent about the situation. ‘I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it,’ he wrote. He emphasized that while the ultimate decision to remove content remained with Meta, the company should not have compromised its content standards due to pressure from any administration.In addition to the COVID-19 content moderation, Zuckerberg also admitted that Meta had incorrectly censored a New York Post story about Hunter Biden’s laptop ahead of the 2020 election. This action was taken following a warning from the FBI about a potential Russian disinformation campaign. Zuckerberg acknowledged that this decision was a mistake, stating, ‘The reporting was not Russian disinformation, and I believe we should not have taken that action’.The revelations have sparked criticism from Republican lawmakers, with the House Judiciary Republicans calling it a ‘big win for free speech’. Zuckerberg has since emphasized Meta’s commitment to free expression and stated that the company would resist similar pressures in the future. He also declared his intention to remain politically neutral in the upcoming US presidential election, stating, ‘My goal is to be neutral and not play a role one way or another — or to even appear to be playing a role’.
Key points
- Mark Zuckerberg revealed that the Biden administration pressured Meta to censor COVID-19 related content, including humor and satire.
- Zuckerberg expressed regret for complying with these demands and not being more transparent about the situation.
- Meta also admitted to incorrectly censoring a New York Post story about Hunter Biden’s laptop ahead of the 2020 election.
- Zuckerberg emphasized Meta’s commitment to free expression and intention to resist similar pressures in the future.
Contradictionsđź‘ľWhile Zuckerberg claims that Meta ultimately made the decisions on content removal, he also states that they were pressured by the government to take certain actions, creating some ambiguity about the level of autonomy in these decisions.
