Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to end the platform’s work with third-party fact-checkers and ease content restrictions is a potentially transformative moment, but experts believe it is unlikely to shield the company from ongoing court proceedings.
In a video announcing the updates, Zuckerberg said the previous content restrictions had “gone too far” and allowed too much political bias from outside fact-checkers. He revealed that Meta will replace the system with a “Community Notes”-style program similar to the approach taken by social media platform X.
Zuckerberg claimed the moves were necessary to reduce mistakes and simplify policies while restoring free expression on the platform. However, the updates are unlikely to ease the legal liability for Meta, which faces the possibility of a multibillion-dollar class-action lawsuit over a privacy scandal involving Cambridge Analytica.
Meta has also been targeted by multiple Republican-led investigations in Congress, which have probed the company’s activity and communication with the government. Law professor and Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley said Meta is likely to face ongoing challenges, with Republican control of the White House, Congress, and the Supreme Court making it less likely for the company to be sympathetic to their views.
Despite this, Turley described Zuckerberg’s move as a potentially transformative moment, potentially paving the way for a collaboration with Elon Musk, co-owner of X. This could ultimately shift the conversation around free speech, and Zuckerberg’s involvement in this fight may even turn the tide.
