Zuckerberg admits US government pressured Meta during Covid-19: 'I regret not speaking up'

Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated in a letter to the US House Judiciary Committee that he regrets not resisting the pressure he was subjected to by the government to remove Covid-19 related posts from their platforms.

According to a report by The Hill, Zuckerberg stated in his letter that the administration of US President Joe Biden "repeatedly" pressured Meta in 2021 to "censor content on their platforms."

'I REGRET THAT WE DID NOT SPEAK UP AGAINST THE PRESSURE'

Noting that he believes government pressure was wrong, Zuckerberg said, "I regret that we were not more outspoken (against this pressure)." Zuckerberg stated that he has warned his team not to compromise their content standards against pressure from any administration, adding, "If something like this happens again, we are ready to push back."

In his letter, Zuckerberg also expressed that Meta's decision to "reduce the visibility" of a story regarding corruption allegations involving the Biden family while awaiting fact-checking before the 2020 presidential election was also a mistake, noting that the company has changed its internal policies accordingly.

'I WILL NOT WORK FOR THE BENEFIT OF ANY SIDE'

Zuckerberg further added that he would remain neutral in the presidential election and would not work for the benefit of any side. Meanwhile, the Republican wing of the US House Judiciary Committee, in a statement on their X social media account, described Zuckerberg's letter as a "big win for free speech."

The post, which emphasized that the Meta CEO made admissions on three issues in his letter, stated, "These are: 1- The Biden-Harris administration pressured Facebook to censor Americans, 2- Facebook censored the American people, and 3- Facebook suppressed the Hunter Biden laptop story."

The post also referred to Zuckerberg's statement that he would not provide financial support to any side in the elections, saying, "No more Zuck bucks. This is a big win for election integrity."