Meta Global Affairs Pres: ‘Most of the Time,’ Governments Are Frustrated ‘We Don’t Do What They Tell Us’ — Congress Should Probe This

During a portion of an interview aired on Wednesday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Special Report,” Meta President for Global Affairs Nick Clegg said that Congress should investigate government attempts to censor content on social media and that “most of the time,” governments are frustrated that Facebook doesn’t do what they’re told.

Host Bret Baier asked, [relevant exchange begins around 4:05] “We’ve seen Twitter in these Twitter files stories with extensive coordination with the federal government over political speech. How extensive was Facebook or Meta’s coordination, and should the federal government have influence over speech on your platforms?”

Clegg answered, “So, look, if I understand it correctly, Congress is going to look into this, look into the way that the executive branch does or doesn’t try to kind of shape how companies operate. And that seems to me, completely right. We don’t operate at the behest of what governments just sort of tell us from one moment to the next. Part of my job is to interact with governments day-in, day-out around the world. And I can tell you, most of the time, they’re immensely frustrated we don’t do what they tell us. Of course, they’re free to reach out to us. We need to work with governments and we are a law-abiding company around the world. But, at the end of the day, we try and be crystal clear about where we draw the line.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett