Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed regret for yielding to what he describes as pressure from the US government to censor Covid-related content on Facebook and Instagram during the pandemic. He stated that senior Biden administration officials repeatedly urged Meta to censor certain Covid-19 posts, including satire, and criticized the company when they did not comply.
Zuckerberg admitted that in hindsight, Meta would have made different decisions and emphasized that they should not have compromised their content standards under government pressure. He also acknowledged that Facebook temporarily demoted a story about Hunter Biden’s laptop based on an FBI warning of potential Russian disinformation, which was later proven not to be disinformation. The House judiciary committee, led by Republicans, praised Zuckerberg’s comments as a “win for free speech,” while the White House defended its actions, emphasizing their intent to protect public health during the pandemic.
