Elon Musk Slams Biden Administration for Pressuring Facebook to Censor COVID-19 Misinformation

Elon Musk has accused the Biden administration of violating the First Amendment by pressuring Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to censor COVID-19 misinformation.

This accusation follows an admission from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who disclosed in a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan that the White House had repeatedly urged Facebook to suppress certain content during the pandemic.

Zuckerberg's letter, which was made public last night, acknowledged that the Biden administration's demands were "wrong" and expressed regret over some of the decisions made by Meta. He stated, "We made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn't make today."

Zuckerberg also promised that Meta would resist any future attempts at censorship, emphasizing, "I feel strongly that we should not compromise our content standards due to pressure from any administration in either direction."

Elon Musk, known for his staunch advocacy of free speech, took to his social media platform X to voice his concerns. He described the episode as a "First Amendment violation" and reiterated his commitment to supporting all viewpoints within the bounds of the law. "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," Musk posted. "If that doesn’t seem to be happening, please yell at me (ideally on X)."

The White House, however, defended its actions, stating that its policy was aimed at encouraging responsible behavior from tech companies to protect public health and safety during a deadly pandemic.

A spokesperson for the administration said, "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."