Elon Musk brands Facebook revelations 'first amendment violation' after Mark Zuckerberg admitted White House 'pressured' Meta to censor 'Covid misinformation'

 Elon Musk has branded the revelations that the Biden administration pressured  Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, to censor COVID misinformation as a 'First Amendment violation.' 

 

 

In a letter to the House Judiciary Committee's chairman Jim Jordan, which was published last night, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted that the Biden administration was 'wrong' to demand Facebook censor what they deemed 'COVID misinformation' during the pandemic.

 

 

Zuckerberg, 40, promised that Meta fight back against any future attempts at censorship and also admitted the company had 'demoted' stories about Hunter Biden's laptop.

 

 

He wrote that the White House 'repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire, and expressed a lot of frustration with our teams when we didn't agree'.

 

 

Elon Musk, a self-described free speech absolutist, said the episode 'sounds like a First Amendment violation', in a post to X, his social media platform. 

 

He later said on X: 'Just want to reiterate that this platform really is meant to support all viewpoints within the bounds of the laws of countries, even those of people with whom I vehemently disagree and personally dislike. 

 

 

'If that doesn’t seem to be happening, please yell at me (ideally on X).'

 

Zuckerberg said the White House's pressure 'was wrong' and says he regrets 'that we were not more outspoken about it'.

 

 

'We made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn't make today,' he added.

 

 

'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.'

 A spokesperson for the White House previously told DailyMail.com in a statement that the Biden administration's policy is to encourage big tech to act responsibly.

 

 

'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.'