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Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg Defends Speech Rules, says Tech Companies are New ‘Fifth Estate'

Zuckerberg’s views on free expression have wide-ranging effects because, as Facebook’s controlling shareholder and chief executive, he has final say in all of the company’s policies and products

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday launched a defense of how tech companies promote and regulate free speech, arguing that Facebook and its peers make up a new “fifth estate” in society alongside the traditional news media.

Zuckerberg, in a speech at Georgetown University, echoed language from the 18th Century, when people first began referring to journalists in the press as a “fourth estate” co-existing with three existing tiers in the British Parliament.

“It is a fifth estate, alongside the other power structures in our society,” Zuckerberg said in the speech, broadcast online. “People no longer have to rely on traditional gatekeepers in politics or media to make their voices heard, and that has important consequences.”

Zuckerberg’s views on free expression have wide-ranging effects because, as Facebook’s controlling shareholder and chief executive, he has final say in all of the company’s policies and products, which billions of people worldwide use monthly.

He has frequently rewritten Facebook’s speech rulebook depending on changing circumstances. Recently, the company eliminated a rule that for years had banned advertisements with “false or misleading content,” and ahead of the 2020 presidential election, it has said it will not attempt to fact-check the ads of political candidates.

Zuckerberg defended those decisions on Thursday.

“We think people should be able to see for themselves what politicians are saying,” he said. “I don’t think it’s right for a private company to censor politicians or the news in a democracy.”

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