Zuckerberg accuses White House of pressuring Meta to censor Covid-19 content 

In a recent revelation, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, has alleged that the Biden administration exerted undue pressure on the company to censor Covid-19-related content. On August 27, 2024, Zuckerberg claimed that the White House and other senior officials from the Biden administration repeatedly urged Meta to remove certain content, including humour and satire, related to the pandemic, as detailed in a report by CNBC.

Zuckerberg's comments were made in a letter addressed to the House Judiciary Committee, led by Republican Jim Jordan. In the letter, Zuckerberg acknowledged that while Meta had the ultimate authority to decide which content to remove, he believed the government's influence was inappropriate. "In 2021, senior officials from the Biden Administration, including the White House, repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content," Zuckerberg wrote. He added, "I regret that we were not more outspoken about it."

The White House has responded by stating that their actions were intended to ensure public health and safety during a critical time. "When confronted with a deadly pandemic, this Administration encouraged responsible actions to protect public health and safety," a White House spokesperson told Politico. The statement emphasized that the administration's goal was for technology companies to consider the impact of their actions on the American people, while still making independent decisions.

This controversy highlights ongoing debates about the extent of government influence over social media platforms. In August 2021, Meta reported removing over 20 million COVID-19-related posts for violating its content policies across Facebook and Instagram. The Biden administration had previously criticized social media platforms for not doing enough to combat misinformation about the virus.

Zuckerberg's letter adds to the broader discussion on the role of tech companies in content moderation and the pressures they face from various stakeholders. As the debate continues, Zuckerberg has pledged that Meta will be more cautious and assertive in maintaining its content standards in the future.