Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has responded to inquiries from the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary regarding content moderation practices. In a letter dated August 26, 2024, addressed to Chairman Jim Jordan, Meta’s CEO addressed two significant incidents involving government interaction with the platform.
The CEO revealed that in 2021, senior Biden Administration officials, including those from the White House, repeatedly pressured Meta to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire. The company expressed regret for not being more outspoken about this pressure at the time and stated that some decisions made then would be different today.
In a separate incident, the FBI warned Meta about a potential Russian disinformation operation concerning the Biden family and Burisma before the 2020 election. When the New York Post published a story about corruption allegations involving then-Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s family, Meta temporarily demoted the story while fact-checkers reviewed it. The CEO acknowledged that this action was mistaken, as the story was not Russian disinformation.
https://twiiter.com/BRICSinfo/status/1828204840943501522
Meta has since revised its policies to prevent similar occurrences, including no longer temporarily demoting content in the U.S. while awaiting fact-checker review.
The letter emphasized Meta’s commitment to promoting free speech and facilitating safe connections for users, while maintaining independence in content moderation decisions despite external pressures.
