The CEO of Meta Platforms, Mark Zuckerberg, criticized the U.S. for "emboldening" censorship on a global scale.
Zuckerberg announced a comprehensive overhaul of Facebook and Instagram's content moderation policies.
"The U.S. has the strongest constitutional protections for free expression in the world," Zuckerberg said in a video on Facebook, emphasizing the need for American leadership in protecting free speech globally.
He said recent U.S. pressure on technology companies has "emboldened other governments to go even further" with censorship efforts.
"It has been so difficult over the past four years when even the U.S. government has pushed for censorship," he added.
Zuckerberg announced plans to collaborate with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who will return to office on Jan. 20, to counter what he described as growing global censorship pressures.
He specifically highlighted concerns about European content laws, Latin American secret courts ordering content removal and Chinese restrictions on international platforms.
While Zuckerberg criticizes Washington, popular social media outlets owned by Meta, including Instagram and Facebook, have come under fire for censoring and shadowbanning pro-Palestine content.
In a report, Human Rights Watch said, "Censorship of content related to Palestine on Instagram and Facebook is systemic and global."
The CEO further explained the steps his company will be taking to increase free speech and reduce censorship on its platforms.
Firstly, in a major policy shift, Meta will eliminate its fact-checking system, replacing it with a community notes feature similar to X, starting in the U.S.
Zuckerberg acknowledged that while the system was implemented in "good faith" following the 2016 election, fact-checkers have "been too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they've created."
The company also plans to eliminate numerous content restrictions, particularly around sensitive topics.
"What started as a movement to be more inclusive has increasingly been used to shut down opinions," Zuckerberg said, promising more room for diverse viewpoints.
Meta will also change its content moderation approach, moving from automatic filtering systems that scan for policy violations.
The new strategy will focus primarily on illegal and high-severity violations, while lower-severity issues will require user reports before action is taken.
"The reality is that this is a trade-off," Zuckerberg admitted, acknowledging that while this might mean catching less problematic content, it will significantly reduce false takedowns of legitimate posts.
Reversing a previous decision to limit political content visibility, Meta will gradually reintroduce civic and political posts across its platforms.
Zuckerberg noted that user feedback indicates a growing demand for such content, though the company aims to maintain "friendly and positive" community environments.
It will also relocate its trust and safety teams from the state of California to Texas, to build trust in areas "where there is less concern about the bias" of their teams.
Zuckerberg concluded by acknowledging the complexity of the changes and the time required for implementation.
While maintaining a commitment to removing illegal content, he emphasized that Meta's primary focus would shift to reducing mistakes and simplifying systems to better serve its original mission of giving people a voice.
