Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, revealed in a letter to the House Judiciary Committee that his teams faced significant pressure from the Biden administration in 2021 to suppress certain COVID-19 content, including satire.
He admitted that this pressure was wrong and that he regretted not being more vocal against it. Zuckerberg stated that decisions made under this pressure in 2021 would not be made today, emphasizing that Meta will resist any future similar pressures.
President Biden had previously criticized social media platforms for spreading misinformation during the pandemic. Although Biden later softened his stance, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy had described such misinformation as a serious public health threat.
The White House responded to Zuckerberg’s letter, stating that their focus was on encouraging responsible actions to protect public health, while respecting the independence of tech companies.
Additionally, Zuckerberg mentioned that the FBI had warned Meta about potential Russian disinformation related to Hunter Biden and Burisma.
Consequently, Meta temporarily reduced the visibility of a New York Post story about Biden family corruption, which was later confirmed not to be Russian disinformation. Meta has since revised its policies to avoid similar actions in the future.
Zuckerberg also addressed criticisms related to his support for electoral infrastructure during the 2020 election, noting that while intended to be nonpartisan, it was perceived by some as benefiting one party. He stated that he would not make similar contributions in the current election cycle to maintain neutrality.
The GOP members of the House Judiciary Committee used Zuckerberg’s letter to argue that the Biden administration pressured Facebook to censor content and manipulate the Hunter Biden story. Zuckerberg has faced ongoing scrutiny from Republicans, who accuse Facebook of bias against conservatives. Despite his efforts to demonstrate impartiality, the controversy persists.
In a recent Supreme Court ruling, plaintiffs accusing the federal government of censoring conservative voices on social media were found to lack standing to sue, as they did not prove a substantial risk of imminent injury from government actions.
Meanwhile, the News Literacy Project reported over 500 instances of misinformation during the 2024 election cycle.
