Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was interviewed on the Joe Rogan Podcast on January 11, discussing various topics such as the Biden administration’s intervention in vaccine-related discourse, the Trump incident, Apple’s market monopoly, and Meta’s future plans in AI technology development.
Vaccine discourse censorship controversy, Biden administration’s confrontation with Meta
Zuckerberg mentioned that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Democratic Party-led Biden administration pressured Meta and other social media companies to strengthen the review of vaccine-related discourse.
Meta had just ended the third-party fact-checking mechanism when Biden directly criticized Meta.
He added that the Biden administration wanted to increase the vaccination rate through Meta, but at that time, there were many unconfirmed data on the efficacy and risks of vaccines. However, the government insisted on promoting the benefits of vaccination to the public and suppressing other dissenting opinions.
Continued pressure from the government, Meta adheres to legal boundaries
Zuckerberg admitted that this pressure has led to a tense relationship between Meta and the government. He mentioned that Meta eventually took some measures to respond to the government’s demands, but it also sparked a debate about freedom of speech and government intervention. “When certain content is based on facts, the government should not pressure the platform and try to hide this information,” he emphasized.
Zuckerberg stated that although Meta recognizes the importance of vaccines, it still insists on handling content review on the platform according to the law, in order to avoid infringing on users’ freedom of speech under political pressure. He expressed the hope that future governments will make data transparent when dealing with public health issues.
Trump’s incitement to Capitol riot, reason for social media account suspension
Regarding the contradiction with Donald Trump, Zuckerberg mentioned that any action by Trump on social media would cause a sensation. He referred back to January 6, 2021, before the Capitol riot in the United States, when Trump said at a rally in the Capitol, “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” This statement was considered the trigger for the riot.
After the riot, Trump immediately posted a message saying, “Let the government know that if they cheat on the election, there will be consequences.” And he shouted to the participants, “You are patriots, remember this day forever.” Many people believed that Trump was trying to absolve himself from the riot with this post. Subsequently, Facebook and other mainstream social media platforms, such as Twitter, suspended Trump’s accounts.
Image: Capitol riot in 2021
(Trump’s new book reveals future plans, publicly threatens Meta founder Zuckerberg)
To prevent Trump from inciting violence, Zuckerberg took decisive action
Zuckerberg also explained in the interview that Trump’s actions and statements at the time were intended to undermine the legal election process and results, and incite violence among the crowd. These factors led Facebook to temporarily suspend Trump’s account, which was later extended to an indefinite suspension.
Screenshot: Trump’s Twitter account suspended after the Capitol riot in 2021
Zuckerberg further stated that this was not targeting an individual’s political stance, and Meta has established an Oversight Board to provide independent recommendations and review highly controversial content like Trump’s account. “We have also ended the third-party fact-checking program and introduced the Community Notes feature, allowing users to evaluate the authenticity of platform information together,” he emphasized.
(Google donated millions of dollars to Meta before Trump’s inauguration, Trump sarcastically refers to Zuckerberg’s major changes to Meta’s content review: Be afraid)
Criticizing Apple’s market monopoly and stagnant innovation
When it comes to Apple, Zuckerberg does not hide his dissatisfaction. He believes that Apple has lacked substantial innovation in recent years and instead maintains its market dominance through a 30% app store commission policy and agreements that restrict competitors from connecting to its devices, harming the entire tech ecosystem.
Zuckerberg emphasized that Apple’s closed system prevents competitors’ technology from entering its platform, especially in terms of hardware integration. He cited the example of Meta wanting its smart glasses, Ray-Ban, to seamlessly connect with the iPhone, but Apple refused to open its protocols, citing security concerns. “Apple says our technology is not secure, but the problem is that the protocols they designed themselves are not secure. They deliberately exclude other manufacturers,” Zuckerberg complained.
Meta’s smart glasses vs Apple’s iPhone
Zuckerberg bluntly stated that since the launch of the iPhone, Apple has not brought any real breakthrough innovations for a long time. He believes that Apple now relies more on market monopoly to maintain its position, rather than leading the market through innovation. “Apple relies on plundering, not innovation. Steve Jobs did change the world, but now Apple is almost stagnant.”
Concerns about Apple’s future, hoping for competition to change the status quo
Regarding Apple’s head-mounted device, Vision Pro, Zuckerberg believes that while Vision Pro has high resolution, it is too bulky and expensive. He mentioned that Meta’s Quest series of mixed reality headsets are priced at only one-tenth of Vision Pro’s price but provide a better interactive experience.
Vision Pro vs Quest
Zuckerberg stated that although Apple’s current market position is still strong, he believes that the rapid development of the technology industry will give other companies the opportunity to grow and challenge Apple. He mentioned that Meta is already leading in AR and AI technology and hopes to drive more competition in the market, forcing Apple to open its own system.
US-China competition determines AI development standards, replacing humans is unlikely
Regarding the future of AI technology development, Zuckerberg believes that AI should not be monopolized by a single country or company, which is why he advocates for open-source technology. He cited China as an example, pointing out that Chinese company DeepSeek sets AI models to cut off all discourse about the Tiananmen Square incident or criticism of Chinese leader Xi Jinping. He believes that the US government should strongly support the development of the domestic technology industry because the results of US-China competition will directly affect the future technical standards and values of global AI.
As for whether AI will replace human jobs, Zuckerberg said, “Every time a new AI technology emerges, it raises such concerns, but history has proven that humans will ultimately create more cultural and creative jobs.” He believes that AI will become “mid-level engineers” in the future, assisting in coding and significantly enhancing human creativity and efficiency.
Finally, Zuckerberg emphasized that the future of AI is not just a technological race but more like a clash of values. He believes that the US’s open-source model and innovative culture can have an advantage in global competition but must find a balance between technology dissemination and protecting democratic values. “The development of AI technology is not a zero-sum game. We need to find the best balance between fair distribution and maintaining freedom. Ensuring that these technologies are transparent and fair is crucial for the future of the world,” he said.
(Zuckerberg reveals that the Biden administration pressured the censorship of US content, and regrets cooperating to suppress his son’s scandal)
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