Mark Zuckerberg, the Chief Executive Officer of Meta Platforms said that the Biden administration urged the company to "censor" content about COVID-19 during the pandemic. In an August 26 letter to the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, Zuckerberg voiced regret for not, at the time, speaking out against this pressure, and for some choices made by his platforms—Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—about removing content.

In July 2021, President Joe Biden charged that social media platforms such as Facebook were "killing people" by allowing falsehoods about COVID-19 vaccines to spread. The White House also launched an offensive, with the then-Press Secretary Jen Psaki and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy berating the company over its failure to crack down on misinformation. This was heating up the pandemic and costing lives in ways that could have otherwise been prevented. Facebook said that it was taking "strong actions" to cope with the problem. As time went on, the Biden administration became less strict but false information still spread in social media.

In a letter to the House Judiciary Committee, which is Republican-controlled, Zuckerberg wrote that his company had been "pressed" to censor the content. He said that he would resist requests in the future.

He said senior Biden administration officials had frequently pressured Meta to take down COVID-19-related content, including jokes and satire, and expressed frustration when the company did not comply. Zuckerberg acknowledged that this was "wrong" on the part of the government and, with further clarity today, different decisions could have been taken.

The White House said its stance has always been unequivocal and consistent. It underlined that what is important is responsible action to keep public health and safety safe amidst a dangerous pandemic. While urging tech companies, they, on their part, made independent choices about the information they wanted to share.

Recently, Zuckerberg has tried to appeal to conservatives. He called the Republican nominee Donald Trump's response to an assassination attempt "badass" and even joined right-wing podcasts. The Judiciary Committee, headed by Trump ally Representative Jim Jordan, hailed the letter from Zuckerberg as a "big win for free speech." They noted that Zuckerberg acknowledged that Facebook had censored Americans. Zuckerberg also said in the letter that he will not contribute to helping support electoral systems in the coming presidential election so as not to affect the results. During the 2020 election, which occurred during the pandemic, Zuckerberg had given $400 million through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a move that some groups bashed as being biased.