USA, Chicago: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in a letter to the US House Judiciary Committee of the Republican Party, stated that the Biden-Harris administration "repeatedly pressured" Facebook to censor content related to COVID-19 in 2021.
Zuckerberg expressed that he believed the government pressure was inappropriate and regretted not being more "outspoken" about it at the time. He acknowledged that his team made decisions they might not have made today, given what they now know.
In his letter, Zuckerberg emphasized that Meta's platforms are focused on promoting free speech and fostering connections in a safe and secure manner. He noted that governments around the world, including the Biden-Harris administration, often express concerns about public discourse and safety, but he maintained that Meta should not compromise its content standards due to any external pressure.
August 26, 2024
He specifically mentioned that the administration even requested the removal of humor and satire related to Covid-19. Zuckerberg made it clear that Meta is prepared to resist such pressures in the future
The US House Judiciary panel shared Zuckerberg's letter on X (formerly Twitter), highlighting that Zuckerberg had admitted three key points: the Biden-Harris administration pressured Facebook to censor Americans, Facebook complied, and Facebook also suppressed the Hunter Biden laptop story, which the panel claimed as a victory for free speech.
Zuckerberg also recalled that in the lead-up to the 2020 elections, the FBI had warned Meta about a possible Russian disinformation campaign concerning the Biden family and Burisma. As a result, when a New York Post story emerged with corruption allegations involving Joe Biden's family, Meta sent the story to fact-checkers and temporarily reduced its visibility while waiting for verification.
He acknowledged that the story was later confirmed not to be Russian disinformation and, in hindsight, Meta should not have demoted it. Zuckerberg noted that Meta has since changed its policies to ensure that content is no longer temporarily demoted in the US while awaiting fact-checkers reviews.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk reposted Zuckerberg's letter, commenting that it "sounds like a First Amendment violation."
