In a letter to the US House Committee chair, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted that he bowed down to pressure from the White House to “censor” content from Facebook and Instagram during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A lot of the content affected, according to Zuckerberg, was “humor and satire.”
“Ultimately it was our decision whether or not to take content down, and we own our decisions, including COVID-19-related changes we made to our enforcement in the wake of this pressure,” Zuckerberg wrote. “I believe the government pressure was wrong and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it.”
He continued: “I also think that we made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn’t make today.” Zuckerberg also resolved that Meta would be willing to “push back” more against the White House in the future.
A ‘win for free speech’?
In a post on X, House Republicans called the letter a “big win for free speech.” Meanwhile, the White House defended its actions with Meta in a statement issued to NBC.
“When confronted with a deadly pandemic, this Administration encouraged responsible actions to protect public health and safety,” the statement reads.
“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.”
