Elon Musk mocks Zuckerberg, calls for transparency on government data

Elon Musk, CEO of X, recently commented on the need for greater transparency in how social media platforms handle government-related data.

That would be great https://t.co/4EMb1zuw4P

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 15, 2025

His remarks come amid increasing calls from social media users for platforms like Meta to release internal files concerning government communications on public health issues, specifically related to COVID-19 and vaccines.

Users argued that the public deserves to know how government pressure may have influenced content moderation decisions during the pandemic. 

They called for the release of Facebook's internal files to provide transparency about how discussions on vaccines, public health measures, and related topics were managed on the platform.

Musk's comment highlighted the growing interest in ensuring that social media companies are held accountable for their role in moderating information, especially when government influence may have been involved.

Meta's overhaul of content moderation policies

Recently Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has unveiled a significant overhaul of the company's content moderation strategies. 

The changes reflect Meta’s renewed commitment to allowing more open discourse across its platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.

Key changes include:

• Ending third-party fact-checking: Meta will discontinue its third-party fact-checking program in the US and transition to a Community Notes model inspired by X.
• Policy simplification: Meta plans to remove certain restrictions on topics such as immigration and gender, aiming to reduce over-enforcement and support open discourse.
• Revised enforcement approach: Meta will concentrate automated filters on illegal and high-severity violations, while relying on user reports for lower-severity issues and raising the threshold for content removal.
• Reintroduction of political content: Civic and political content will be reintroduced into recommendation systems, giving users greater access to political and civic discussions.
• Relocation of moderation teams: Meta’s trust and safety and content moderation teams will move from California to Texas to address concerns about potential biases in content moderation.

Zuckerberg also mentioned plans to collaborate with President-elect Donald Trump to resist global pressures on censorship, further emphasizing Meta’s stance on upholding free speech.

Read more: Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund