Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed on Monday that his company, Facebook, faced pressure from the Biden-Harris administration to censor American users, especially regarding COVID-19 content.
Zuckerberg disclosed this in a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, more than a year after Meta had already provided thousands of documents for the committee’s investigation into online content moderation.
In his letter, Zuckerberg emphasized Meta’s commitment to cooperating with the investigation, noting that the company had also made a dozen employees available for interviews. He outlined Meta’s stance on content moderation, stating, “Our platforms are for everyone – we’re about promoting speech and helping people connect in a safe and secure way. We regularly hear from governments and others with various concerns around public discourse and safety.”
Zuckerberg admitted that in 2021, senior officials from the Biden administration persistently urged Meta to censor certain COVID-19 content, including satire and humor. When Facebook resisted, the administration showed considerable frustration.
Zuckerberg clarified that while it was ultimately Meta’s decision whether to take content down, he regretted not speaking out more strongly against the pressure. He acknowledged that, with hindsight, some of the choices made under this pressure were mistakes. “We should not compromise our content standards due to pressure from any administration, and we’re prepared to resist if such situations arise in the future,” he stated.
The House Judiciary Committee had initially subpoenaed Meta on February 15, 2023, seeking documents and information on how the company’s content moderation might have been influenced by the executive branch, raising concerns about potential First Amendment violations.
In the same letter, Zuckerberg also addressed the handling of the Hunter Biden laptop story. He explained that the FBI had warned Meta about a potential Russian disinformation operation related to the Biden family and Burisma, leading Meta to fact-check and temporarily demote a New York Post story on the topic while awaiting further verification.
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