Carr: Zuckerberg Letter Raises 'Authoritarianism’ Concerns

Zuckerberg sent a letter Monday to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, whose committee is investigating Biden administration communications with social media companies (see 2405010079). Zuckerberg said in the letter that in 2021 senior Biden officials, including some from the White House, “repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire.” Government officials expressed “a lot of frustration with our teams when we didn’t agree,” Zuckerberg wrote.

The company made “COVID-19-related changes” in the “wake of this pressure,” Zuckerberg said. This pressure was “wrong,” and the company regrets it wasn’t “more outspoken about it," he said. With hindsight, Meta wouldn’t have made some of those content moderation decisions, he said: “I feel strongly that we should not compromise our content standards due to pressure from any Administration in either direction -- and we’re ready to push back if something like this happens again.”

Carr said Zuckerberg’s admissions are a positive step, but called for accountability for government officials who contacted Meta. He urged other social media companies to disclose when government officials pressure them to delete content. If national security prevents this, companies should alert the Senate and House Judiciary Committees, Carr added. “We are in the midst of a very important debate right now about the future of this country: whether we’re going to have free speech or whether we’re going to have censorship,” Carr said. The letter is part of a “bigger fight” between “freedom” and “authoritarianism," he said.

The White House said in a statement: “When confronted with a deadly pandemic, this Administration encouraged responsible actions to protect public health and safety. Our position has been clear and consistent: we believe tech companies and other private actors should take into account the effects their actions have on the American people, while making independent choices about the information they present.”

House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, said Tuesday that Zuckerberg’s outline of alleged Biden administration pressure on Meta “is damning” and “a gross abuse of power by this administration, and we must do everything we can to preserve our First Amendment rights.” The House Commerce Committee “has been sounding the alarm on Big Tech’s unbridled power for years,” said Latta, a candidate to become the panel’s lead Republican after Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington retires at the end of this Congress (see 2402080063). “Now that this information has come to light, we must examine what policies have allowed Big Tech companies, like Meta, to censor viewpoints and hold this administration accountable for silencing the voices of the American people.”

X owner Elon Musk said Zuckerberg’s claims sound “like a First Amendment violation.” Musk met with Carr earlier this month in Texas. Carr credited Musk with helping reform "the Administrative State, driving efficiency in government, and unleashing a new cycle of American innovation.”

Zuckerberg also said his company was wrong when it demoted a New York Post story about Hunter Biden’s laptop and corruption allegations against the Biden family leading up to the 2020 election. He said the company made the decision after receiving warnings from the FBI about a Russian disinformation campaign against the Biden family.

X CEO Linda Yaccarino, in response to the Zuckerberg letter, said it’s “never been more important for people to have access to the truth. Let us make up our own minds.”