Just days after France arrested Telegram’s CEO for violation of its new, stringent censorship laws, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is speaking out about pressure the Biden/Harris administration placed on Meta (formerly Facebook) to squelch free speech.
In a letter to Congress, Zuckerberg stated that the Biden/Harris White House pressured Meta (including Instagram) to silence free speech on COVID posts — including satire (i.e., jokes) about COVID vaccines and lockdowns.
The Meta CEO stepped forward after other tech CEOs became outspoken about censorship afoot around the globe.
Zuckerberg says he now “regrets” caving into the pressure of censoring Americans on his platform.
SOON: Expect more tech leaders to speak out. This outspoken trend of tech leaders is expected to continue, as Trump’s Vice Presidential pick J.D. Vance promised to bring to the ticket a slew of Silicon Valley allies.
Just one day after Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France for not adhering to France’s new crackdown on speech, Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski fled Europe and shared his harrowing escape on “X.”
”I’m a little late to his, but for good reason — I’ve just safely departed from Europe,” Pavlovski posted.
He shared that France has similarly “threatened Rumble” and that they ”have crossed a red line by arresting Telegram’s CEO.”
He went on to say that “Rumble will not stand for this behavior and will use every legal means available to fight for freedom of expression, a universal human right. We are currently fighting in the courts of France.”
China and Russia have banned Rumble. Brazil threatened Rumble, and France was not far behind. The UK has threatened the platform, and so has New Zealand. It is clear that Free Speech is under assault and not slowing down as we careen 71 more days toward Election Day.