Pfluger, Crenshaw Lead Letter to Meta Demanding Answers for Restricting Content

WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) and Congressman Dan Crenshaw (TX-02) recently sent a letter to Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Meta Platforms, and Javier Olivan, Chief Operating Officer of Meta Platforms, asking for answers related to the decision of proactively opting users out of recommended "political and social content" across Instagram and Threads.

In the letter, the lawmakers wrote: “Meta is making its own decisions on what content from their elected representatives a user sees rather than acting as a platform for all views. Your announcement mentions that this decision will not affect how a user views content. Conservative voices deserve the continued opportunity to use social media platforms such as Instagram to inform users of political and social issues, hold elected leaders responsible, and fight against disinformation."

The full text of the letter can be found here or below.

Dear Mr. Zuckerberg and Mr. Olivan:

We write to express our concerns over Meta Platforms, Inc.’s decision on February 9, 2024, to proactively opt users out of being recommended “political and social content” across “Instagram, Threads1." 

Pew Research reports that half of all U.S. adults consume their news through social media. Connecting with constituents allows Members of Congress and other officials to quickly and accessibly share what their elected representatives are doing for them. This includes anything from announcing town halls, sharing floor speeches, announcing legislation, and even hosting live streams to discuss important current events. Social media has also allowed users to stay informed of policy decisions at all levels of government, including public service announcements like emergency updates. Limiting official government accounts from being able to reach their constituents is a disservice to all those we represent. This policy change hampers our ability to effectively serve our constituents and prevents citizens from being informed of the actions of their federal, state, and local government agencies and officials. 

Meta is making its own decisions on what content from their elected representatives a user sees rather than acting as a platform for all views. Your announcement mentions that this decision will not affect how a user views content. Conservative voices deserve the continued opportunity to use social media platforms such as Instagram to inform users of political and social issues, hold elected leaders responsible, and fight against disinformation. It is crucial that company decisions do not undermine freedom of speech and expression. 

We believe that opting out of “political and social content” is a decision that should be made by the user, not the platform. As advocates for free speech and the free flow of information, we respectfully request that you reconsider this decision and provide answers to the following questions by July 5, 2024. 

1. Why did Meta implement this policy now, and why was it limited to “political and social content?” 
2. Has Meta examined implementing a similar policy for other types of content, including advertisements showing products not offered by Meta services or content directed towards children outside of their timeline? If yes, provide any and all documentation of such conversations. 
3. What is your definition of “political and social content?” What is the difference between “political and social content” and other content categories? Does “political and social content” include related satirical, comedic, or journalistic content? 
4. Does this policy differentiate between official government accounts and campaign accounts associated with current government officials? 
5. How are you communicating this change? How will content creators know if their account or content has been labeled as “political or social” content? 
6. How does this affect posts made by government agencies and heads of government agencies who use social media to help inform the public of their decisions? Does this impact posts that are public service announcements? 
7. What was the reasoning behind automatically opting users out of political and social content rather than providing users the choice to opt-out?

Sincerely,

Rep. August Pfluger and Rep. Dan Crenshaw