Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has accused the federal government of pressuring the platform to censor content related to the COVID-19 pandemic, expressing regret for not resisting more strongly. In a letter to Rep. Jim Jordan, the chair of the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, Zuckerberg detailed how senior officials from the Biden Administration, including the White House, urged Meta to remove specific COVID-19 content, including humor and satire, during 2021.
Zuckerberg noted that the government showed frustration when Meta officials did not comply with the requests. Eventually, the company removed content under pressure, a choice Zuckerberg now regrets. He stated, “I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret we were not more outspoken about it. I also think we made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn’t make today.” He emphasized that should a similar situation arise, Meta would be prepared to resist.
Between April and June 2021, as COVID-19 vaccinations became widely available, Meta reported removing 20 million posts globally from Facebook and Instagram for violating its COVID-19 misinformation policies. The company has been actively combating online disinformation and regularly publishes threat reports.
In response to Zuckerberg’s letter, the White House maintained that the administration promoted responsible actions to safeguard public health during the pandemic. They stated, “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.”
Experts have suggested that social media platforms should not solely dictate the narrative on misinformation. Tara Kirk Sell, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Health Security, advocates for the formation of a national commission to issue neutral, evidence-based guidance to enhance health communication.