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FILE - Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before a joint hearing of the Commerce and Judiciary Committees on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Zuckerberg says the White House pressured Facebook over some COVID-19 content during the pandemic

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says senior Biden administration officials pressured Facebook to “censor” some COVID-19 content during the pandemic

By AP News
Published - Aug 27, 2024, 03:35 PM ET
Last Updated - Aug 27, 2024, 03:35 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says senior Biden administration officials pressured Facebook to “censor” some COVID-19 content during the pandemic and vowed that the social media giant would push back if it faced such demands again.

In a letter to Rep. Jim Jordan, the Republican chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Zuckerberg alleges that the officials, including those from the White House, “repeatedly pressured” Facebook for months to take down “certain COVID-19 content including humor and satire.”

The officials “expressed a lot of frustration” when the company didn't agree, he said in the letter.

“I believe the government pressure was wrong and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it,” Zuckerberg wrote in the letter dated Aug. 26 and posted on the committee's Facebook page and to its account on X.

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