Elon Musk brands Facebook revelations a ‘first amendment violation’ after Mark Zuckerberg admitted White House ‘pressured’ Meta to censor ‘Covid misinformation’ as well as ‘demote’ Hunter Biden laptop stories

CEO Elon Musk calls revelations that the Biden administration pressured Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, to censor COVID disinformation a “violation of the First Amendment.”

In a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan published last night, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted the Biden administration was “wrong” by requiring Facebook to censor “COVID disinformation” during the pandemic.

Zuckerberg, 40, vowed that Meta would fight future censorship attempts and also admitted that the company had “downgraded” stories about Hunter Biden’s laptop.

He wrote that the White House “has repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire, and has expressed significant frustration with our teams when we have not agreed.”

Elon Musk, who calls himself a staunch advocate of free speech, said in a post on X, his social media platform, that the episode “sounds like a violation of the First Amendment.”

Zuckerberg admitted that Meta downgraded stories about Hunter Biden (pictured right, with father Joe Biden) and his laptop

Mark Zuckerberg (pictured) vowed not to bow to further pressure

Zuckerberg said the White House push was “wrong” and said he regrets “not being more open about it.”

Musk went to X to voice his concerns following last night’s revelations

Later on X he said: ‘I want to reiterate that this platform is really meant to support all points of view within the bounds of the laws of the land, even those of people I vehemently disagree with and personally dislike.

“If that doesn’t seem to be happening, yell at me (preferably on X).”

Zuckerberg said the White House push was “wrong” and said he regrets “not being more public about it.”

“We made choices that, given what we know now and the new information, we would not make again,” he added.

“I am convinced that we should not neglect our substantive standards because of pressure from any government. And we are prepared to intervene if something like this happens again.”

A White House spokesperson previously told DailyMail.com in a statement that the Biden administration’s policy is aimed at encouraging big tech companies to behave responsibly.

In a statement to X, Congressman Jim Jordan called the letter a “major victory for free speech”

Many Republicans believe suppressing the story led to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s victory

Zuckerberg also admitted that the company “shouldn’t have downgraded” the Hunter Biden laptop story ahead of the 2020 election

“When faced with a deadly pandemic, this administration encouraged responsible measures to protect public health and safety.

“Our position has always been clear and consistent: We believe that technology companies and other private parties should consider the impact of their actions on the American people and make independent choices about the information they present.”

A Meta spokesperson told the Washington Post that the letter spoke for itself.

It came just two months after it emerged that former intelligence officials were being paid on contract by the CIA when they signed the letter falsely claiming Hunter Biden’s laptop was “Russian disinformation.”

Former CIA deputy director Michael Morell and former CIA inspector general David Buckley were also among the suspects, according to a new report from the House Judiciary Committee.

Morell orchestrated the letter after a phone call from current Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He said he did it to give Biden a “talking point” ahead of the 2020 election when Trump attacked him over the laptop that was later verified as his son’s.

Zuckerberg also said Meta would not repeat what it did in 2020, when it funded nonprofits to finance local election campaigns, a move criticized by Republicans as “Zuckerbucks.”

Zuckerberg wrote that the Biden White House “repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire, and expressed significant frustration with our teams when we couldn’t agree.”

According to the report, senior CIA officials were aware of the letter before it was published, and some expressed concerns about its political nature.

The signatories’ decision to use their former titles within the intelligence community to promote a narrative about foreign election interference has [CIA] in domestic politics,” the report said, “it underscores the potential dangers of a politicized intelligence service.”

The conflict over freedom of speech in the US comes as France is also facing growing discord after French authorities arrested Telegram CEO Pavel Durov.

Durov, 39, was arrested at Le Bourget airport outside Paris shortly after landing in a private jet on Saturday night. OFMIN, a French government agency responsible for protecting minors from violence, had issued a warrant for his arrest.

He was accused of facilitating organized crime, drug trafficking, fraud, cyberbullying and promoting terrorism on his platform, which has about 950 million users worldwide.

Musk also weighed in on Durov’s arrest, posting “#FreePavel” alongside a video of the Telegram CEO praising X in an interview with Tucker Carlson.