Zuckerberg: Meta was pressured to censor COVID-19 misinformation
Regrets, Mark Zuckerberg has a few.
In a letter to Rep. Jim Jordan, the Republican Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Zuckerberg said that Meta was repeatedly pressured by the Biden administration to “censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire,” and that even though his company was free to decide how to handle the requests, he thought the government pressure was wrong, and that he regrets not speaking up about it at the time.
“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,” wrote Zuckerberg.
The company has become more cautious about content moderation policies that can be seen as partisan, which is what prompted Jim Jordan’s investigation. It is rare to see Zuckerberg openly criticizing the lame duck Biden administration, but as we race toward an extremely tight election, the company may be making a political calculation.
Zuckerberg also noted that the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative will not be spending $400 million to facilitate local elections like it did in 2020, to avoid the appearance of being partisan.
Zuckerberg wrote, “My goal is to be neutral and not play a role one way or another - or to even appear to be playing a role.”
“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,” wrote Zuckerberg.
The company has become more cautious about content moderation policies that can be seen as partisan, which is what prompted Jim Jordan’s investigation. It is rare to see Zuckerberg openly criticizing the lame duck Biden administration, but as we race toward an extremely tight election, the company may be making a political calculation.
Zuckerberg also noted that the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative will not be spending $400 million to facilitate local elections like it did in 2020, to avoid the appearance of being partisan.
Zuckerberg wrote, “My goal is to be neutral and not play a role one way or another - or to even appear to be playing a role.”
