Washington, D.C., USA – Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has expressed regret over his company’s actions during the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing that the Biden administration exerted significant pressure on Meta to censor specific content on its platforms, Facebook and Instagram.
Zuckerberg disclosed that senior officials from the White House repeatedly pushed Meta to suppress certain COVID-19-related posts, including those containing humor and satire, during the pandemic. In a letter to Jim Jordan, chairman of the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, Zuckerberg stated, “I believe the government pressure was wrong,” and acknowledged that, in hindsight, the company would have made different decisions.
During the pandemic, Facebook implemented measures such as adding misinformation alerts to users’ interactions with posts deemed to contain false information about COVID-19. The company also deleted posts that criticized COVID vaccines and suggested that the virus was developed in a Chinese laboratory. Zuckerberg admitted that some of these actions, particularly the temporary suppression of a story about the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop, were influenced by warnings from the FBI and pressure from the government.
“I think we made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn’t make today,” Zuckerberg said. “I regret we were not more outspoken about it. I feel strongly that we should not compromise our content standards due to pressure from any administration in either direction.”
The House Judiciary Committee, which is controlled by Republicans, celebrated Zuckerberg’s admissions as a “big win for free speech” in a post on the committee’s Facebook page.
The House judiciary committee, controlled by Republicans, hailed Zuckerberg’s admissions as a “big win for free speech.” Meanwhile, the White House defended its actions, stating that it encouraged responsible behavior to protect public health and safety while maintaining that tech companies should make independent choices about the information they present.