Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg regrets caving to what he called pressure from the Biden administration to “censor” content on Facebook and Instagram during the coronavirus pandemic.
In a letter to the chairman of a U.S. House committee, he said senior officials, including some from the White House, pressured Meta to remove content in 2021.
The White House defended its actions, saying they encouraged “responsible actions to protect public health and safety.”
Mr Zuckerberg also said his company briefly “downgraded” content about Joe Biden’s son Hunter before the 2020 election after the FBI warned of “a potential Russian disinformation operation”.
It turns out the content was not part of any such operation, Zuckerberg said.
Addressing COVID-related content, Zuckerberg wrote: “In 2021, senior officials in the Biden administration, including the White House, repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19-related content, including humor and satire.
“We made choices that, with hindsight and new information, we would not make today.
“I think the pressure from the government was unjustified and I regret that we were not more explicit about it.”
Mr Zuckerberg said he and Meta would be prepared to “fight back” if something similar happened in the future.
His letter was addressed to Jim Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which is investigating content moderation on online platforms. Republicans said the letter was a “Great victory for freedom of expression“.
In a statement published on the Politico websiteThe White House stood by its actions.
“Our position has been clear and consistent: We believe that technology companies and other private actors should consider the effects of their actions on the American people, while making independent choices about the information they present,” he said.
Mr Zuckerberg’s comments about Hunter Biden refer to the story of a laptop abandoned by the president’s son at a Delaware repair shop – as first reported by the New York Post.
The newspaper said emails found on the computer suggested his overseas business dealings influenced U.S. foreign policy when his father was vice president.
The president and his family have denied any wrongdoing.
The story has become a notable right-wing talking point in the United States and a point of contention as some social media platforms have censored the content.
“In retrospect, we should not have downgraded the story,” Mr. Zuckerberg wrote.
“We have changed our policies and processes to ensure this does not happen again.”
Mr. Zuckerberg also said he had no plans to make further contributions to support election infrastructure.
In 2020, he donated $400 million (£302 million) through his Chan Zuckerberg philanthropic initiative, which aimed to help government offices run elections during the pandemic.
However, false information quickly spread on social media accusing Mr Zuckerberg of using a loophole to circumvent maximum donation limits in an attempt to get Mr Biden elected.
Mr Zuckerberg said his donations “were intended to be non-partisan”.
“Yet, despite the analyses I have seen that show the opposite, I know that some people believe that this work has benefited one party rather than the other.
“My goal is to be neutral and not play a role one way or another – or even appear to play a role – so I don’t intend to make a similar contribution this cycle.”
