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- Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says White House pressured Facebook over some COVID-19 content during the pandemic
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says White House pressured Facebook over some COVID-19 content during the pandemic
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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has accused the US government, specifically the Biden administration, of pressuring Facebook to censor COVID-19 related content during the pandemic. According to Zuckerberg, senior officials repeatedly pressured Facebook teams for months, expressing frustration when the company did not comply. Zuckerberg regrets caving in to this pressure and believes it was wrong for the government to do so. He claims that the government's demands went beyond removing misinformation, also targeting humor and satire.
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.
When confronted with a deadly pandemic, this Administration encouraged responsible actions to protect public health and safety. 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.
I also think we made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn't make today.
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.
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.
The FBI warned us about a potential Russian disinformation operation about the Biden family and Burisma in the lead up to the 2020 election.
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 believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it.
Ultimately, it was our decision whether or not to take the content down, and we own our decisions, including COVID-19 related changes we made to our enforcement in the wake of this pressure.
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sources
- 1.Ars Technica
- 2.The Times of India
- 3.Al Jazeera
- 4.CTV News
- 5.Bloomberg News
- 6.New York Times
- 7.Seattle Times
- 8.Wall Street Journal
perspectives
- 1.Tech industry
- 2.Regulation
- 3.Social Media
- 4.News media
- 5.Advertising Industry
- 6.Covid-19 Pandemic
- 7.Privacy Rights
countries
organizations
- 1.Facebook
- 2.Meta
- 3.White House
- 4.House Judiciary Committee
- 5.Republican Party
- 6.Twitter/X
- 7.Burisma Holdings
- 8.Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
- 9.Conservative Party
- 10.Democratic Party
- 11.Federal Bureau of Investigation
- 12.House of Representatives
persons
- 1.Mark Zuckerberg
- 2.Hunter Biden
- 3.Donald Trump
- 4.Joe Biden
- 5.Christopher Wray
- 6.Jack Dorsey
- 7.Jim Jordan
- 8.Joe Rogan
- 9.Kamala Harris
- 10.Pavel Durov
- 11.Priscilla Chan