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Tags: markzuckerberg | facebook | freespeech | axios

Mark Zuckerberg Regrets Not Making Stance on Free Speech Clear

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks via video conference
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks via video conference during the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law hearing on Online Platforms and Market Power July 29, 2020 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Mandel Ngan-Pool/Getty Images)

By    |   Wednesday, 09 September 2020 04:10 PM EDT

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Wednesday that he wishes that he had “spent more time earlier on communicating” the company’s stance on freedom of speech, Axios reports.

"I really used to believe that the product by itself was everything, right?" Zuckerberg said in an interview for “Axios on HBO” released this week. "And that if we if we built a good product, it didn't matter how we communicated about what we did and how we explained the principles behind the service — people would love and would use the product...."

He added, "I just wish that I'd spent more time earlier on communicating about what our principles are and what we stand for — you know, things like free expression and voice and that we're going to defend those."

Zuckerberg said that "Now a lot of people look at us and they see this as a successful company. With a lot of money. And it's a little hard now, I think, for us to go back and talk about our principles and have people see the principles for anything but, you know, some talking points."

He also said that Facebook was not looking to start taking down anti-vaccine posts in the same way that the company removed misinformation on the coronavirus.

"If someone is pointing out a case where a vaccine caused harm or that they're worried about it — you know, that's a difficult thing to say from my perspective that you shouldn't be allowed to express at all,” Zuckerberg said.

Theodore Bunker

Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.

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Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Wednesday that he wishes that he had "spent more time earlier on communicating" the company's stance on freedom of speech...
markzuckerberg, facebook, freespeech, axios
252
2020-10-09
Wednesday, 09 September 2020 04:10 PM
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