Zuckerberg: Facebook caved to Biden administration's censorship demands

Facebook bowed to censorship pressure under US President Joe Biden's administration, META CEO Mark Zuckerberg said today.

In a letter to the US House of Representative judiciary committee, Zuckerberg said that Facebook "temporarily demoted" a story that alluded to Hunter Biden, the president's son, amid warnings from the FBI about a potential Russian disinformation campaign.

Reaction to Zuckerberg's revelations has been mixed, with some asking for more context and speculating about the timing of his letter. Conservatives however celebrated the news. Republicans on the judiciary committee, which is led by Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, called it a "big win for free speech."

Former US President Donald Trump's take went further, claiming in a post on Truth Social, "IN OTHER WORDS, THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION WAS RIGGED."

Hunter Biden scoop

Hunter Biden was a board member of Ukrainian gas company Burisma, and a New York Post report in 2020 claimed that he asked the US government for assistance on the company's behalf when his father was vice president.

Apparently the evidence for this request was found on Hunter Biden’s laptop, which he had left at a repair shop in Delaware in April 2019.

"In retrospect, we shouldn't have demoted the story. We've changed our policies and processes to make sure this doesn't happen again. For instance, we no longer temporarily demote things in the US waiting for fact-checkers," he said.

However, PolitiFact found in 2021 that "Nothing from the laptop has revealed illegal or unethical behavior by Joe Biden as vice president with regard to his son's tenure as a director for Burisma."

In June 2024, federal prosecutors used the laptop as evidence when prosecuting Hunter Biden on unrelated charges.

Choosing sides

Republicans including former Trump have long claimed they are being unfairly censored by social media platforms.

Zuckerberg's remarks come as influential tech officials choose sides during a polarised US presidential election.

Just last month, billionaire CEO Elon Musk, who owns X, launched a pro-Trump super PAC. The group is being funded by Musk and several other tech moguls, including Palantir Technologies co-founder Joe Lonsdale and cryptocurrency scions Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

However, Zuckerberg said he plans to stay out of the election fray this year:

"My goal is to be neutral and not play a role one way or another — or to even appear to be playing a role. So I don’t plan on making a similar contribution this cycle."

Covid-19 posts

In his letter, Zuckerberg also said that senior White House officials "repeatedly pressured" his teams to censor satirical posts about Covid-19 at the height of the pandemic in 2021.

To clear up confusion, Facebook added misinformation alerts for users if they were considered to contain false information about the virus. It also deleted posts that criticized Covid vaccines and rumors about the origins of the virus.

The company also deleted posts criticising Covid vaccines, and suggestions the virus was developed in a Chinese laboratory.

In his statement, Zuckerberg said, "I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it. 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."

The White House responded to the letter in a statement saying, "When confronted with a deadly pandemic, this Administration encouraged responsible actions to protect public health and safety."

It added that it believes "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."