Meta regrets bowing to White House pressure to censor COVID-19 content

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, has publicly expressed regret over his company’s content moderation practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a letter to Jim Jordan, chair of the House judiciary committee, Zuckerberg claimed that senior officials from the Biden administration, including the White House, pressured Meta to “censor” certain COVID-19 content on Facebook and Instagram in 2021.

The House judiciary committee has been investigating content moderation on online platforms. Republicans said the letter was a “big win for free speech”.

Addressing the covid content, Zuckerberg said, “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 humour and satire. We made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn’t make today. I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it.”

He added that Meta would be prepared to “push back” against similar pressure in the future.

The White House defended its actions, stating that it encouraged “responsible actions to protect public health and safety.” In a statement issued to the website Politico, the White House said, “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.”

Zuckerberg also addressed the controversial handling of a New York Post story about Hunter Biden’s laptop in 2020. He admitted that Meta briefly “demoted” content related to the story after the FBI warned of a potential Russian disinformation operation. “In retrospect, we shouldn’t have demoted the story,” Zuckerberg acknowledged, adding that the company has since changed its policies to prevent similar occurrences.

Zuckerberg’s comments on Hunter Biden refer to the story of a laptop that was abandoned by the president’s son at a repair shop in Delaware – as first reported by the New York Post. The newspaper claimed emails found on the computer suggested his business abroad had influenced US foreign policy while his father was vice-president. However, the president and his family have denied any wrongdoing. The story became a notable right-wing talking point in the US, and a point of contention as some social media platforms censored the content.

The Meta CEO also announced that he would not make further contributions to supporting electoral infrastructure. In 2020, Zuckerberg donated $400 million through his Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to help government offices conduct elections during the pandemic. However, this donation sparked accusations of partisan interference, despite Zuckerberg’s insistence that it was “designed to be non-partisan.”

“My goal is to be neutral and not play a role one way or another – or to even appear to be playing a role – so I don’t plan on making a similar contribution this cycle,” Zuckerberg stated.

These revelations have reignited debates about the role of social media platforms in content moderation, the influence of government pressure on tech companies, and the fine line between protecting public health and preserving free speech. As the 2024 US presidential election approaches, the tech industry’s handling of political content and its relationship with government officials will likely remain under intense scrutiny.