Meta CEO Zuckerberg says US pressure on Covid-19 posts was ‘wrong’

WASHINGTON: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg believes US government pressure on his social media platforms to take down certain Covid-19 content in 2021 was “wrong,” and said he would resist similar attempts in the future, according to a letter submitted to a US congressional committee.

In the letter, addressed to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and released by Republicans on the committee, Zuckerberg addressed a number of controversies centered on content moderation on his platforms.

He also asserted that he did not plan on repeating funding efforts for US election infrastructure ahead of the country´s presidential poll this year, donations that had drawn sharp criticism from Republicans.

Zuckerberg´s submission to the committee on Monday comes just over two months out from a tightly contested US presidential election race, with the spotlight on widespread online misinformation about the candidates.

Regarding the pandemic, the Facebook founder said President Joe Biden´s administration had in 2021 “repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain Covid-19 content, including humor and satire.”