Zuckerberg regrets bowing to White House 'pressure' over Covid

The billionaire says White House officials pressured Meta to remove content 'for months' in 2021.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS ElectionUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessWomen at the HelmFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersZuckerberg regrets bowing to Biden 'pressure' over CovidGetty ImagesMeta boss Mark Zuckerberg says he regrets bowing to what he calls pressure from the Biden administration to "censor" content on Facebook and Instagram during the coronavirus pandemic.

In a letter sent to a US House committee chair, he said some material – including humour and satire – was taken down in 2021 under pressure from senior officials.

The White House has defended its actions, saying it encouraged "responsible actions to protect public health and safety".

Mr Zuckerberg also said his firm briefly "demoted" content relating to Joe Biden's son, Hunter, ahead of the 2020 election, after the FBI warned of "a potential Russian disinformation" operation.

It later became clear that this content was not part of such an operation, Mr Zuckerberg said, and it should not have been temporarily taken down.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czxlpjlgdzjo

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