In a wide-ranging question-and-answer session with Meta employees on Thursday, Mark Zuckerberg, the company’s chief executive, defended recent changes he had made by loosening restrictions on online speech and ending diversity initiatives, and doubled down on embracing President Trump’s new administration.
“I want to be clear, after the last several years, we now have an opportunity to have a productive partnership with the United States government,” Mr. Zuckerberg said, according to a recording of the meeting shared with The New York Times. “We’re going to take that.”
Mr. Zuckerberg, 40, said it was “fundamental” for Meta — the world’s biggest social media company with Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp — to be on better terms with governments around the world.
“The government can sort of be actively opposing you, trying to get in the way and add a lot of friction, or can be actively trying to help you break down barriers to help you,” he said. “It’s the right thing to do.”
In the hourlong meeting with Meta’s more than 70,000 employees, Mr. Zuckerberg also said that 2025 would be a significant year for potentially transformative initiatives of Meta’s business, including focusing on artificial intelligence, data centers and the immersive world of the metaverse.
Mr. Zuckerberg’s remarks signaled his tightened grip over Meta as he has remade the company for the Trump era, to the consternation of some of his employees. This month, he announced sweeping changes to reduce Meta’s restrictions on speech, ended a fact-checking program and killed diversity efforts in the workplace. He also showed up to President Trump’s inauguration and has criticized former President Biden’s administration for being anti-tech.
At Meta, Mr. Zuckerberg has clamped down on employee dissent in recent years, including by banning workplace discussions around certain contentious social and political issues. Some employees have pushed back on the changes, such as the removal of tampons from the men’s bathrooms at the company, which were provided for transgender and nonbinary employees. As recently as Thursday, some employees were circulating a sign-up form for workers to purchase sanitary products and bring them to Meta’s offices in an act of protest, said two people who have seen the form.
A spokesman for Meta declined to comment. 404 Media previously reported on parts of Mr. Zuckerberg’s conversation.
This is a developing news story. Check back for updates.
Kate Conger and Sheera Frenkel contributed reporting.
Content Source: www.nytimes.com