FT: Zuckerberg accuses Biden Admin of pressuring Meta to censor COVID-19 content

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has accused the Biden administration of pressuring the social media company to censor certain COVID-19 content during the pandemic. In a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, Zuckerberg claimed that senior officials from the Biden administration had repeatedly pressured Meta to restrict some content, including humor and satire related to COVID-19.

“I believe the government pressure was wrong and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it,” Zuckerberg wrote. He emphasized that Meta should not compromise its content standards under pressure from any administration and stated the company would resist such pressure in the future.

Zuckerberg also announced that he would not be making further contributions to support electoral infrastructure through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, his philanthropic organization. Previous donations totaling more than $400 million had been made to ensure local election jurisdictions had sufficient voting resources during the pandemic. However, Zuckerberg noted that these contributions were perceived as favoring one political party over the other, leading him to decide against similar donations this election cycle.

“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 stated in the letter.

The comments from Zuckerberg come as a surprising acknowledgment of the Biden administration’s attempts to influence Meta’s content moderation policies and enforcement processes. They also appear to criticize the Democratic Party ahead of the upcoming November election.

In response, a White House spokesperson defended the administration’s actions during the pandemic, stating they had encouraged responsible measures to protect public health and safety. The spokesperson emphasized that the government believes tech companies should consider the impact of their actions on the American public while making independent decisions about the information they present.

This exchange comes amid a broader debate over the role of social media platforms in moderating content, balancing free speech, and ensuring online safety. House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan has been leading an investigation into alleged collusion between the Biden administration, disinformation researchers, and social media platforms to suppress conservative speech.

The issue has also been highlighted by recent events, including posts by Elon Musk, a self-described free speech absolutist and owner of X, and the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France over moderation issues on the messaging app.

Former President Donald Trump, a frequent critic of social media platforms for perceived bias against conservative voices, has also weighed in on the matter. In July, Trump warned on his social media platform, Truth Social, that if re-elected, he would pursue what he described as “election fraudsters.” He also cautioned Zuckerberg to be careful, referring to him as “Zuckerbucks.”

In a separate statement, Zuckerberg reflected on a decision to temporarily demote a New York Post story about a laptop belonging to President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, ahead of the 2020 election. The action was taken after the FBI warned of a potential Russian disinformation campaign, but Zuckerberg acknowledged that the story ultimately did not turn out to be Russian disinformation.

[Information sourced from Financial Times]