Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently shared an account of Biden administration officials scolding Facebook employees over content removal requests. On “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, Zuckerberg explained, “Basically, these people from the Biden administration will call our team and scream and curse at them.” He emphasized that Facebook ultimately pushed back, “It just got to the point where we were like, ‘No, we’re not going to, we’re not removing things that are true. This is ridiculous. Is.”
This is not the first time Zuckerberg has talked about pressure from the administration. In a letter to Representative Jim Jordan last year, Zuckerberg said the White House had “repeatedly pressured” Facebook to remove specific COVID-19 content, including humor and satire. Zuckerberg acknowledged that Facebook complied at times but suggested they would make different decisions in the future. “We made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn’t make today,” he said.
Mark Zuckerberg wants us to like him just like we like Trump and Elon, so he’s on Joe Rogan saying things we love to hear pic.twitter.com/v8BrecoeT6
– Vinnie Scola (@VinnieScola) 10 January 2025
The White House responded at the time, saying, “When faced with a deadly pandemic, this administration encouraged responsible actions to protect the public health and safety.” He emphasized his position, saying, “We believe that tech companies and other private actors should take into account the impacts of their actions on the American people when making free choices about the information they present. should keep”.
Zuckerberg shared a specific example of the administration’s requests, which included a meme of Leonardo DiCaprio advertising a class action lawsuit for people taking the COVID vaccine on TV screens. Zuckerberg said, “They say, ‘No, you have to remove it,'” but Facebook refused, saying, “We won’t remove humor and satire. We won’t remove things that are, that are true”. .
The incident was part of a larger case that reached the Supreme Court in 2023. The plaintiffs sought to prevent government officials from communicating with social media companies, but the Supreme Court ultimately dismissed the suit in a 6-3 decision.
Zuckerberg’s comments came as Meta announced changes to its content moderation policies. They have announced the end of their fact-checking program and replacing it with a community-driven structure. Additionally, Facebook and Instagram will relax rules related to political content.
It is also noteworthy to mention that he is one of the tech giants whose company has pledged to donate $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration fund.
