'Regret We Weren't More Outspoken': Zuckerberg Claims Biden Admin Pressured Meta To Censor Covid Content

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed regret for not being more vocal about the “government pressure” to remove Covid-19-related content. (AP file photo)

Zuckerberg further expressed that Meta should "not compromise" its content standards due to any administration's pressure and affirmed the company’s readiness to resist such pressure in the future

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg accused the Biden administration of “repeatedly pressuring” the company, which owns Facebook and Instagram, to “censor” certain Covid-19 content during the pandemic in 2021.

In a letter to US House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan on Monday, Zuckerberg expressed regret for not being more vocal about the “government pressure” to remove Covid-19-related content.

He wrote, “I believe the government pressure was wrong and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it.”

Zuckerberg further expressed that Meta should “not compromise” its content standards due to any administration’s pressure and affirmed the company’s readiness to resist such pressure in the future.

“Like I said to our teams at the time, I feel strongly that we should not compromise our content standards to pressure from any Administration in either direction – and we’re ready to push back if something like this happens,” he stated.

The Meta CEO noted that when Facebook did not comply with the censorship requests, the Biden administration expressed frustration. “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,” he said.

Reflecting on past decisions, he said, “I also think we made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn’t make today.”