New Delhi | Desk: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has expressed regret for what he described as yielding to pressure from the Biden administration to “censor” content on Facebook and Instagram during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a letter addressed to the chair of a U.S. House committee, Zuckerberg detailed how senior officials, including members of the White House, urged Meta to remove certain content in 2021.
The White House has defended its actions, emphasizing that it encouraged “responsible measures to protect public health and safety.”
Zuckerberg also admitted that Meta temporarily “demoted” content related to Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, before the 2020 election after the FBI warned of a potential Russian disinformation operation. However, the content was later determined not to be part of such an operation.
Regarding the COVID-19 content, Zuckerberg wrote, “In 2021, senior 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. We made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn’t make today. I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it.”
Zuckerberg further stated that Meta would be prepared to “push back” against similar pressures in the future.
The letter was addressed to Jim Jordan, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, which has been investigating content moderation practices on online platforms. Republicans have hailed Zuckerberg’s letter as a “significant win for free speech.”
In response, the White House, in a statement to Politico, reaffirmed its stance: “Our position has been clear and consistent: We believe tech companies and other private actors should consider the impact of their actions on the American people while making independent choices about the information they present.”
Zuckerberg’s comments on Hunter Biden refer to the controversy surrounding a laptop allegedly abandoned by the president’s son at a repair shop in Delaware, as first reported by the New York Post. The newspaper claimed that emails found on the computer suggested Hunter Biden’s business dealings abroad might have influenced U.S. foreign policy while his father was vice president. Both President Biden and his family have denied any wrongdoing.
The story became a major talking point among right-wing circles in the U.S. and led to controversy when some social media platforms censored the content. Reflecting on the situation, Zuckerberg wrote, “In retrospect, we shouldn’t have demoted the story. We’ve changed our policies and processes to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
Zuckerberg also indicated that he does not plan to make further contributions to support electoral infrastructure. In 2020, he donated $400 million through his philanthropic organization, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, to help government offices conduct the election during the pandemic. However, misinformation quickly spread on social media, accusing Zuckerberg of exploiting a loophole to bypass donation limits to support Joe Biden’s election.
Zuckerberg clarified that his donations “were intended to be non-partisan” but acknowledged that some people still believe the work benefited one party over the other. He added, “My goal is to remain neutral and not play a role one way or another—or even appear to be playing a role—so I don’t plan on making a similar contribution this cycle.”
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