In a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Jim Jordan, Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, acknowledged that the Biden administration was “wrong” to demand censorship of what it considered COVID misinformation during the pandemic.
Zuckerberg, 40, also revealed that Meta had “demoted” stories related to Hunter Biden’s laptop and pledged that the company would resist future censorship attempts. He explained that the White House “repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire,” and expressed frustration when Meta did not comply.
Musk, a staunch advocate for free speech, commented on X (formerly Twitter), saying the situation “sounds like a First Amendment violation.” He further stated, “I want to emphasize that this platform is intended to support all viewpoints within the bounds of the law, even those I personally disagree with or dislike. If that’s not happening, please let me know (preferably on X).”
Zuckerberg admitted that the White House’s pressure was “wrong” and expressed regret for not being more vocal about it. He said, “With the benefit of hindsight and new information, we recognize that some of our decisions were misguided.”
He added, “I strongly believe that we should not compromise our content standards under any administration’s pressure, and we are prepared to resist similar attempts in the future.”
A White House spokesperson previously told DailyMail.com that the administration’s policy is to encourage responsible actions from big tech. “In the face of a deadly pandemic, this Administration urged responsible measures to safeguard public health and safety. Our stance has been consistent: we believe tech companies and other private entities should consider the impact of their actions on the American public while making independent decisions about the information they present.”
