Biden administration forced Meta to censor COVID-19 content: Mark Zuckerberg
In a letter to US's House Judiciary Committee, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has accused the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris administration of exerting "repeated pressure" on his company. The alleged aim was to censor certain COVID-19-related content on Meta's platforms. Zuckerberg expressed regret over not being more vocal about this issue at the time, and acknowledged that some decisions made under this pressure would not be repeated today.
Zuckerberg details alleged pressure from Biden administration
Zuckerberg detailed the alleged pressure from the Biden administration in his letter. He claimed that "senior officials from the Biden Administration, including the White House, repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content." This included humor and satire related to the pandemic. The Meta CEO also stated that these officials expressed significant frustration when their requests were not met.
Regret on not being more outspoken
Zuckerberg expressed regret for not being more outspoken about the alleged government pressure. He stated, "I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it." The Meta CEO also admitted that some choices made during this period, would not be repeated today with new information and hindsight.
Zuckerberg stands firm on content standards
Zuckerberg emphasized his commitment to upholding content standards, regardless of external pressure. He stated, "I feel strongly that we should not compromise our content standards due to pressure from any Administration in either direction and we're ready to push back if something like this happens again." This statement underscores Meta's stance on maintaining its content guidelines amidst potential political pressures.
Alleged FBI warning on potential Russian disinformation
In his letter, Zuckerberg also recalled an incident where the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had warned Meta about a possible Russian disinformation operation. This operation was allegedly targeting the Biden family and Burisma ahead of the 2020 election. After this warning, Meta demoted a story on corruption allegations involving Joe Biden's family. However, Zuckerberg now asserts that the story was not Russian disinformation and should not have been downgraded.
