Meta users should have the choice to opt out of political content themselves and the company should reverse its policy on the issue given the importance of an election year, Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, wrote to CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Javier Olivan on Thursday, reports the Hill.
Meta in March stopped recommending political content from accounts that users don't already follow after years of criticism about how it handled misinformation and whether it contributed to political polarization.
"I write to reiterate my concern about Meta Platforms, Inc.'s actions to proactively opt users out of political and social content across all platforms. I firmly believe that users should have the right to decide if they wish to opt out of 'political and social content,' not the platform," Pfluger wrote in the memo.
"By automatically opting users out, Meta is actively suppressing users' ability to access this information, a choice that should be the users to make," he added.
Pfluger also sent a letter in June expressing similar concerns.
"In my original letter, I explained that by restricting content, Meta's policies hinder elected officials' ability to serve their constituents. This limitation prevents citizens from staying informed about the actions of their federal, state, and local government agencies and officials, thereby undermining the very foundation of informed citizenship," he wrote in the latest letter.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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