Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, testifies during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis,” in Dirksen building on Wednesday, January 31, 2024.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
The Biden Administration “pressured” Facebook-parent Meta to “censor” content related to Covid-19, the social media giant’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg alleged, adding that he regrets some of the decisions taken in relation to the U.S. government’s requests.
“In 2021, senior officials from the Biden Administration, including 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,” Zuckerberg wrote in a letter to the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee.
The letter was posted on the Committee’s Facebook page and on its account on the X social media platform on Monday.
A Meta spokesperson confirmed the letter’s authenticity to CNBC.
Zuckerberg said it was ultimately Meta’s decision to take down any content, but he noted he believes that the so-called “government pressure was wrong.”
“I regret that we were not more outspoken about it,” Zuckerberg said.
NBC News has reached out to the White House for comment Tuesday morning, but did not immediately receive a response.
In a statement to Politico, the White House 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,” it added.
Zuckerberg said Meta made some choices that, “with the benefit of hindsight and new information,” the tech giant would not make again.
“Like I said to our teams at the time, 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,” Zuckerberg said.
In August 2021, Facebook said it had removed more than 20 million posts related to Covid-19 for violating its content rules across the main social networking site and Instagram.
That year, the White House criticized social media firms, including Facebook, for allowing misinformation related to the Coronavirus to spread across their platforms.
Zuckerberg’s letter underscores the ongoing debate about the extent to which social media firms should moderate content.
The House Judiciary Committee, which is chaired by Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, has alleged that big technology firms colluded with the government to censor speech.
Zuckerberg also discussed his position on the upcoming U.S. presidential vote, noting that he made contributions via the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative toward electoral infrastructure during the previous round at the polls. He said he will not be doing that for the upcoming election.
“My goal is to be neutral and not play a role one way or another — or to even appear to be playing a role,” Zuckerberg said.
A Tesla Cybertruck sits on a lot at a Tesla dealership on April 15, 2024 in Austin, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
Tesla shares slid more than 2% Tuesday after a report that the electric vehicle maker was halting production of Cybertruck and Model Y models for a week in Austin, Texas.
The production stoppage begins June 30, Business Insider reported, citing a staff meeting where the announcement was made. The pause, which is for maintenance on production lines, would be the third such shutdown at the Austin facility in the past year, according to BI.
Tesla is tentatively launching the robotaxi in Austin on June 22, using Model Y vehicles equipped with a new version of the company’s “Full Self-Driving” technology.
CEO Elon Musk shared a video clip on X last week of a Model Y robotaxi on a road in Austin, adding to the buzz for the promised launch.
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CNBC has reached out to Tesla for comment on the reported pause.
The two new features, announced Monday in a post during the Cannes Lions festival, will help brands better leverage discussions on the platform. The company said the tools are powered by an engine called Reddit Community Intelligence that turns “posts and comments into structured intelligence.”
Reddit announced a “listening tool” called Reddit Insights, which shares real-time insights with marketers to help them identify trends and launch campaigns. The other tool, called Conversation Summary Add-ons, allows brands to show “positive” user content under their ads.
“These are tools for a new era of community marketing, one where brands can tap into Reddit’s authenticity and connect meaningfully with high-intent communities around the world,” the company wrote.
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The company said Publicis served as the exclusive alpha tester for Reddit Insights, while Lucid and Jackbox Games were among the early testers for Conversation Summary Add-Ons.
Companies across industries are betting on new ways to harness AI to improve advertising campaigns and better engage with users. These new tools are transforming the industry while also putting pressure on some advertising stalwarts.
The industry is also currently navigating a bumpy environment spurred by the trade war with China.
During the recent earnings season, many companies warned of sluggish advertising sales in certain regions due to a rocky macroeconomic environment. Recent developments, however, have suggested a cooling of tensions between the U.S. and China.
Last month, Reddit posted strong sales and upbeat guidance. The company has benefited from recent changes to Google search and internal site improvements, which include convincing logged-out users to open accounts. Logged-in accounts are more beneficial to advertisers.
European defense technology startup Helsing on Tuesday said that it’s raised 600 million euros ($693.6 million) in a bumper new round of funding.
The investment was led by Prima Materia, the venture capital firm founded by Spotify CEO Daniel Ek and by Shakil Khan, an early investor in the popular music streaming app. Ek is also chairman of Helsing.
Existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners, Accel, Plural, General Catalyst and Saab also put money in, alongside new investors BDT & MSD Partners.
Defense and the technology behind it have become a hot area for investors lately, amid major global conflicts, including the Ukraine war to Israel-Gaza. Last week saw a further escalation of war in the Middle East as Israel launched a series of airstrikes against Iran.
In 2024, venture funding in Europe’s defense, security and resilience sector reached an all-time high of $5.2 billion, according to a recent report from the NATO Innovation Fund. The sector grew 30% in the past two years, outperforming the broader VC market, which saw a 45% decline over the same period.
Founded in 2021, Helsing sells software that uses artificial intelligence technology to analyze large amounts of sensor and weapons system data from the battlefield to inform military decisions in real time. Last year, the startup also began manufacturing its own line of military drones, called HX-2.
Helsing, which operates in the U.K., Germany and France, said it would use the fresh cash to invest in Europe’s “technological sovereignty” — which refers to attempts to onshore the development and production of critical technologies, such as AI.
“As Europe rapidly strengthens its defence capabilities in response to evolving geopolitical challenges, there is an urgent need for investments in advanced technologies that ensure its strategic autonomy and security readiness,” Ek said in a statement out Tuesday.
Helsing did not disclose its new valuation following the latest financing round, which is subject to “certain approvals,” according to a statement. The firm was previously valued at around 5 billion euros in a 450 million euro funding round led by General Catalyst last year.