Facebook, Instagram… Meta makes a radical decision, this is what will change on social networks

By ending his fact-checking program in the United States, Mark Zuckerberg illustrates the desire and even the eagerness of certain big tech bosses to align themselves with the conservative tandem formed by Elon Musk and Donald Trump.

“We are returning to our roots,” asserted Tuesday the boss of Meta, who has always refused to consider his company as a press company subject to specific constraints in terms of content, preferring to describe it as a distribution network (“utility “).

No major boss of an American technology company has until now expressed such frank support for the radical concept of freedom of expression defended by the elected president and his inseparable multi-billionaire ally, hostile to any regulation.

“Major victory”

If Donald Trump does not hesitate to attack the media for publications that displease him, he does however plead for a free circulation of content from his supporters on social networks, amplifying his anti-migrant, hostile to transgender or threatening rhetoric for his opponents. policies.

“For all of us who have been leading the fight for freedom of expression for years, this feels like a major victory and a turning point,” David Sacks, businessman and future advisor to Donald Trump on artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrencies.

This close friend of Elon Musk welcomed the fact that Meta had “corrected its trajectory”. “Thank you President Trump for creating this political and cultural realignment,” he wrote.

“Political decision”

“It makes perfect sense to approach this decision (by Meta) from a political angle,” comments Ethan Zuckerman, professor of public policy, communication and information at the University of Massachusetts, to AFP.

He recalls that the company has also just welcomed Dana White, combat sports personality and supporter of Donald Trump, to its board of directors.

“But it is also a decision that serves Zuckerberg’s financial objectives: fact-checking is a difficult, expensive and controversial activity,” notes this researcher, who recently sued Meta over the functioning of the algorithm. Facebook.

“Political parties like social networks thrive when there are divisions, so it is not very surprising (that a company) like Meta turns away from fact-checking,” notes Wendy Schiller, professor of political science at Brown University.

“Censorship Cartel”

Donald Trump intends to attack tech companies and the media in general, he who has repeatedly raged against social networks, in particular after being temporarily banned from Facebook and Twitter, before the latter was bought by Elon Musk.

On Tuesday, the president-elect estimated that Meta’s boss had “probably” reacted to threats he had made against him.

The Republican chose Brendan Carr, a supporter of deregulation of the technology sector, to lead the powerful federal communications agency, the FCC.

On November 15, Brendan Carr called on “dismantle the censorship cartel” formed according to him by “Facebook, Google, Apple, Microsoft and others”.

Like Mark Zuckerberg, the heads of Google, Amazon and Apple went to meet the Republican at Mar-a-Lago, his residence in Florida.

Source: AFP.

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