Meta CEO Blasts Biden Administration Pressure on COVID-19 Content

By Gnaneshwar Rajan and Nandita Bose

(Reuters) – Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that the Biden administration pressured the company to “censor” COVID-19 content during the pandemic. This refers to White House demands to remove misinformation regarding the coronavirus and vaccines.

In a letter dated August 26, Zuckerberg expressed regret for not voicing earlier concerns about this pressure, as well as other decisions made regarding content removal on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

In July 2021, President Joe Biden accused social media platforms like Facebook of “killing people” by allowing misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines. Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy also publicly criticized Facebook for insufficient action in removing misinformation, arguing it hampered efforts to combat the pandemic.

At the time, Facebook claimed it was making “aggressive steps” to fight misinformation. The Biden administration later softened its criticism, despite continued vaccine misinformation spreading on social media.

In his letter to the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee, Zuckerberg indicated that the company faced significant pressure from senior Biden administration officials, expressing frustration when Facebook did not comply with requests to censor certain COVID-19 content. He stated, “I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret we were not more outspoken about it.”

The White House countered that it sought responsible actions to protect public health amid a deadly pandemic. The administration maintained that tech companies should independently factor in their impact on the American public’s well-being.

Zuckerberg has also been courting conservative audiences, recently commending Republican nominee Donald Trump’s response to an assassination attempt. The Judiciary Committee celebrated Zuckerberg’s letter as a “big win for free speech,” claiming it confirmed that Facebook censored Americans.

Additionally, Zuckerberg announced he would refrain from contributing to electoral infrastructure in the upcoming presidential election, a departure from the $400 million he donated during the last election through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to support election infrastructure, which drew criticisms as a partisan act.