Facebook/Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sent a letter Monday to the House Judiciary Committee expressing regret that he had not been more forthcoming and vocal about the pressure exerted upon his enterprise by the federal government regarding content regarding COVID-19.
Biden-Harris Administration Pressure
The technology billionaire said in his bombshell letter that the Biden-Harris Administration “repeatedly pressured” his company to “censor” content in 2021.
Zuckerberg’s Regret
Zuckerberg wrote to House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, “I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken.”
Commitment to Content Standards
He continued in his letter, “As I said to our teams at the time, I feel strongly that we should not compromise our content standards due to pressure from any Administration in either direction–and we’re ready to push back if something like this happens again.”
Example of Content Demotion
As an example in the letter, Zuckerberg cited a story that Meta “shouldn’t have demoted” and that featured allegations of corruption against the Biden family in the days leading up to the 2020 election.
Meta’s Fact-Checking Policies
Meta said that the story was demoted only as fact-checkers verified the facts in the article.
Policy Changes at Meta
However, according to Zuckerberg, Meta’s policies and procedures have changed, and stories awaiting fact-checking are no longer demoted.
Zuckerberg’s Stance on Election Donations
Unlike the last election cycle, Zuckerberg told the House Judiciary Committee that he would not be making donations during this election cycle, which would impact election infrastructure.
Controversy Over “Zuckerbucks”
His donations in the past election have proven controversial, though they were intended and “designed to be non-partisan.”
Accusations of Bias
Critics have accused the “Zuckerbucks” of being distributed unfairly to benefit liberal jurisdictions.
Zuckerberg’s Defense
Zuckerberg went on the record with his letter, saying, “Despite the analyses I’ve seen showing otherwise, I know some people believe this work benefited one party. My goal is to be neutral and not play a role one way or another–or even to appear to be playing a role.”
Republican Response to Zuckerberg’s Letter
In receiving the bombshell letter, the House Judiciary Committee Republicans claimed the message was a “big win for free speech.”
GOP’s Statement on X
On X, the GOP Judiciary Committee released the following statement, “Mark Zuckerberg just admitted three things: 1. Biden-Harris Admin “pressured” Facebook to censor Americans. 2. Facebook censored Americans. 3. Facebook throttled the Hunter Biden laptop story.”
Zuckerberg’s Pledge for Election Integrity
The Committee also posted on X, “Mark Zuckerberg also tells the Judiciary Committee that he won’t spend money this election cycle. That’s right, no more Zuck-bucks. This is a huge win for election integrity.”
