Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote a letter to the House Judiciary Committee stating there was pressure from the Biden Administration on COVID-19 content.
In the letter to House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on Monday, Zuckerberg wrote: “There’s a lot of talk right now around how the U.S. government interacts with companies like Meta, and I want to be clear about our position. Our platforms are for everyone – we’re about promoting speech and helping people connect in a safe and secure way. As part of this, we regularly hear from governments around the world and others with various concerns around public discourse and public safety.”
He stated that 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.”
Zuckerberg expressed regret:
“Ultimately, it was our decision whether or not to take content down, and we own our decisions, including COVID-19-related changes we made to our enforcement in the wake of this pressure. I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it. I also think we made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn’t make today. Like I said to our teams at the time, I feel strongly that we should not compromise our content standards to pressure from any Administration in either direction – and we’re ready to push back if something like this happens.”
Zuckerberg also touched on the Hunter Biden laptop story.
The House Judiciary GOP wrote on X, “Big win for free speech.”
Read the full letter below:
Mark Zuckerberg just admitted three things:
— House Judiciary GOP
1. Biden-Harris Admin "pressured" Facebook to censor Americans.
2. Facebook censored Americans.
3. Facebook throttled the Hunter Biden laptop story.
Big win for free speech. pic.twitter.com/ALlbZd9l6K(@JudiciaryGOP) August 26, 2024
A White House spokesperson responded to the letter, telling Fox News, “When confronted with a deadly pandemic, this administration encouraged responsible actions to protect public health and safety. Our position has been clear and consistent: we believe tech companies and other private actors should take into account the effects their actions have on the American people, while making independent choices about the information they present.”
Tech billionaire Elon Musk reacted on X, writing, “Sounds like a First Amendment violation.”
Musk also appeared to respond to Zuckerberg’s letter when he wrote on X, “Just want to reiterate that this platform really is meant to support all viewpoints within the bounds of the laws of countries, even those of people with whom I vehemently disagree and personally dislike. If that doesn’t seem to be happening, please yell at me (ideally on 𝕏).”
