Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Image: Billionaires Success/Flickr (CC by 2.0)
Zuckerberg says Meta was pressured for months to censor Covid-19 content by the Biden administration. The revelations have been called a ‘win for free speech’ by Republicans.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the US government pressured his company to censor Covid-19 content during the global pandemic.
In a letter addressed to US representative Jim Jordan and shared online by Republicans from the House Judiciary Committee, Zuckerberg said Meta was contacted by “senior officials from the Biden administration” in 2021. He claims the company was “repeatedly pressured” for months to censor certain Covid-19 content “including humour and satire”.
Zuckerberg also said these officials expressed “frustration” when Meta’s teams disagreed with any censorship decisions.
“I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it,” Zuckerberg said. “I also think we made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn’t make today.
“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.”
Social media became a battleground during the pandemic, as a mix of truth, disinformation and satire about the situation spread across the internet. This caused companies such as Meta to take new measures to crack down on disinformation and harmful content.
But while the Covid-19 pandemic has eased off, the issue of harmful and false content spreading on social media remains. Zuckerberg’s statements come during a time when various platforms – including his own – are being criticised for their content moderation standards and face stricter regulation in the EU and the US.
Political neutrality
The issue of content moderation online is also a political topic, particularly in the US as Republicans claim conservative views are being censored online. The Republican account that shared Zuckerberg’s revelations called it a “big win for free speech”.
A clear example of social media becoming politically motivated is X owner Elon Musk, who claims to be a “free speech advocate” and recently pledged his support to US presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Zuckerberg claims that he wants to stay neutral politically however. In his letter, he said that he would not be repeating a move he made during the last US election to fund non-profits working to support US electoral infrastructure.
“My goal is to be neutral and not play a role one way or another – or to even appear to be playing a role,” Zuckerberg said. “So I don’t plan on making a similar contribution this cycle.”
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Mark Zuckerberg. Image: Billionaires Success via Flickr (CC by 2.0)
