Mark Zuckerberg Reveals Government Pressure on COVID-19 Content & Regrets Past Moderation Decisions

TLDR:

• Mark Zuckerberg admitted Meta was pressured by Biden administration to censor COVID-19 content
• Zuckerberg expressed regret for not being more outspoken against government pressure
• Meta temporarily demoted NY Post’s Hunter Biden laptop story before 2020 election
• Zuckerberg won’t repeat $400 million contribution to election infrastructure in 2024
• House Judiciary Committee calls Zuckerberg’s letter a “big win for free speech”

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has revealed that his company faced pressure from the Biden administration to censor certain COVID-19 content on its platforms during the pandemic.

In a letter to the House Judiciary Committee, Zuckerberg admitted that senior officials from the White House repeatedly urged Meta to remove specific posts, including humor and satire, related to the virus.

Mark Zuckerberg just admitted three things:

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

— House Judiciary GOP 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryGOP) August 26, 2024

The letter, dated August 26, 2024, was addressed to Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and detailed Meta’s cooperation with the ongoing investigation into content moderation practices on online platforms.

Zuckerberg expressed regret for not being more vocal about the government pressure at the time, stating,

“I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it.”

According to Zuckerberg, the pressure campaign lasted for months in 2021, with administration officials expressing frustration when Meta did not comply with their requests.

However, he emphasized that the final decisions on content removal remained with the company.

“Ultimately, it was our decision whether or not to take content down, and we own our decisions,” Zuckerberg wrote.

The Meta CEO also addressed the controversial handling of a New York Post story about Hunter Biden’s laptop prior to the 2020 election.

Zuckerberg explained that the FBI had warned the company about a potential Russian disinformation operation involving the Biden family and Burisma.

As a result, Meta temporarily demoted the story’s visibility while fact-checkers reviewed it. In hindsight, Zuckerberg acknowledged this was a mistake, stating,

“It’s since been made clear that the reporting was not Russian disinformation, and in retrospect, we shouldn’t have demoted the story.”

In response to these incidents, Zuckerberg outlined changes to Meta’s policies and processes to prevent similar situations in the future.

He stated, “We’ve changed our policies and processes to make sure this doesn’t happen again – for instance, we no longer temporarily demote things in the U.S. while waiting for fact-checkers.”

The House Judiciary Committee, led by Republican Representative Jim Jordan, hailed Zuckerberg’s letter as a “big win for free speech.” The committee has been investigating potential First Amendment violations related to government pressure on private companies to censor or limit certain types of speech.

Zuckerberg also announced that he would not be making contributions to support election infrastructure in the upcoming 2024 presidential election.

This decision comes after criticism and lawsuits stemming from his $400 million donation via the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative during the 2020 election cycle. Zuckerberg explained,

“My goal is to be neutral and not play a role one way or another — or to even appear to be playing a role.”

The White House responded to Zuckerberg’s letter, defending the administration’s approach to COVID-19 information.

In a statement, they said,

“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.”

The Meta CEO concluded his letter by reaffirming the company’s commitment to promoting free speech while maintaining a safe online environment, stating,

“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.”