Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has acknowledged that the Biden administration pressured the social media platform to suppress content related to COVID-19 vaccines.
In a letter to the House Judiciary Committee, Zuckerberg expressed regret for not standing up to the government’s requests more firmly.
The letter marks the first time Zuckerberg has publicly admitted that the White House may have overstepped its bounds in its efforts to shape online discourse.
Allegations of government censorship on Meta have been circulating since 2020, with much of the evidence emerging from a lawsuit filed by Missouri and Louisiana.
While the Supreme Court ultimately ruled against the states in Missouri v. Biden, the case revealed the extent of the White House’s influence over social media content moderation.
Emails between White House officials and social media executives showed that the administration repeatedly pressured platforms to limit the spread of “vaccine hesitancy.”
Zuckerberg admitted that Meta made “some choices” in response to this pressure that it would not make today. He vowed to “push back” if similar attempts at government censorship occur in the future.
The letter also addressed allegations that Meta intentionally demoted a New York Post story about Hunter Biden’s business dealings.
Zuckerberg explained that the story was temporarily downranked while fact-checkers were investigating it amid concerns about Russian disinformation. However, he admitted that the decision was a mistake.
In response to accusations of partisanship, Zuckerberg emphasized that Meta’s goal is to be neutral. He acknowledged previous contributions to local election jurisdictions but stated that he would not be making similar contributions this time.
