Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg disclosed that the Biden administration had pressured the company to “censor” COVID-19 content during the pandemic, referring to White House requests to remove misinformation about the virus and vaccines.
In a letter dated August 26, Zuckerberg expressed regret to the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee for not speaking out about this pressure earlier. He also reflected on decisions made by his company, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, regarding the removal of certain content.
In July 2021, President Joe Biden, a Democrat, criticized social media platforms like Facebook, claiming they were “killing people” by allowing misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines to spread. Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy also voiced concerns that Facebook was not doing enough to combat misinformation, hindering efforts to fight the pandemic and save lives.
At the time, Facebook responded by stating it was taking “aggressive steps” to combat misinformation. Although the Biden administration later softened its criticism, vaccine-related misinformation continued to circulate on social media.
In his letter to the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee, Zuckerberg stated that his company was “pressured” to censor content and emphasized that it would resist such demands in the future.
“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 humor and satire, and expressed significant frustration when we didn’t comply,” Zuckerberg wrote in the letter, which was shared on the Judiciary Committee’s Facebook page.
“I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret not being more outspoken about it,” he continued. “I also think we made some decisions that, with hindsight and new information, we would not make today.”
In response, the White House stated that the administration encouraged responsible actions to protect public health and safety during a deadly pandemic.
“Our position has been clear and consistent: we believe tech companies and other private actors should consider the impact of their actions on the American people while making independent decisions about the information they present.”
Recently, Zuckerberg has sought to appeal to conservative users, complimenting Republican nominee Donald Trump’s response to an assassination attempt as “badass” and appearing on right-wing podcasts. The Judiciary Committee, chaired by Representative Jim Jordan, a close ally of Trump, celebrated Zuckerberg’s letter as a “big win for free speech,” noting that Zuckerberg admitted Facebook had censored Americans.
Zuckerberg also stated in the letter that he would not contribute to electoral infrastructure in this year’s presidential election to avoid influencing the outcome. During the 2020 election, held amid the pandemic, Zuckerberg donated $400 million through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, his philanthropic venture with his wife, to support election infrastructure. This move sparked criticism and lawsuits from some groups, which claimed the donation was partisan.
