Washington:
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently shared an account in which Biden administration officials berated Facebook staff for requests to remove content. On “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, Zuckerberg said, “Basically these people from the Biden administration called our team and yelled at them and cursed.” He emphasized that Facebook eventually backed down, saying, “It got to a point where we thought, 'No, we're not going to take down things that are true. That's ridiculous.'”
This isn't the first time Zuckerberg has spoken out about government pressure. In a letter to Rep. Jim Jordan last year, Zuckerberg stated that the White House “repeatedly pressured” Facebook to remove specific COVID-19 content, including humor and satire. Zuckerberg admitted that Facebook complied at times, but suggested they would make different decisions in the future. He noted, “We made some choices that, with hindsight and new information, we wouldn't make today.”
Mark Zuckerberg wants us to like him like we like Trump and Elon, so he sits on Joe Rogan and says things we like to hear pic.twitter.com/v8BrecoeT6
— Winnie Schola (@WinnieSchola) January 10, 2025
The White House responded at the time, saying, “Faced with a deadly pandemic, this administration encouraged responsible actions to protect public health and safety.” They emphasized their position by saying, “We believe that technology companies and other private actors should consider the effects their actions have on the American people while making independent choices about the information they present.”
Zuckerberg shared a specific example of the government's requests, including a meme of Leonardo DiCaprio pointing at a TV screen advertising a class action lawsuit against people who have taken the Covid vaccine. Zuckerberg said, “They say, 'No, you have to remove that,'” but Facebook refused, saying, “We're not going to remove humor and satire. We're not going to remove things that… that are true.”
This incident was part of a larger case that reached the Supreme Court in 2023. The plaintiffs sought to ban government officials from communicating with social media companies, but the Supreme Court ultimately dismissed the lawsuit in a 6-3 ruling.
Zuckerberg's comments come as Meta announces changes to its content moderation policy. They have announced that they are ending their fact-checking program and replacing it with a community-driven structure. In addition, Facebook and Instagram will relax rules regarding political content.
It is also notable to mention that he is one of the tech moguls whose company has pledged to donate $1 million to newly elected President Donald Trump's inaugural fund.