Mark Zuckerberg says White House 'pressured' Meta to 'censor' Covid-19 content

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 alleged "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