Meta Faces Criticism Over Blocking Links To Competitor Platforms

According to Cointelegraph, social media giant Meta is under scrutiny for blocking links to a competing platform shortly after committing to freedom of speech. This move has raised questions about the sincerity of Mark Zuckerberg’s firm in reducing censorship. A report from 404 Media reveals that Meta-owned Facebook has been actively deleting links to Pixelfed, a decentralized Instagram competitor. Links to Pixelfed.social have been labeled as “spam” and removed immediately. Meta, which acquired Instagram in 2012, has expanded its social media reach to include the popular photo-sharing app. The censorship of Pixelfed was first identified by AJ Sadauskas on Bluesky Social, a platform founded in 2019 by entrepreneur Jack Dorsey. Sadauskas shared screenshots showing Pixelfed links on Facebook being deleted “within seconds.” Another Bluesky user, Johan Vandevelde, noted that the censorship extended to other Facebook competitors, stating that his comment containing a link to Mastodon was also removed for being “spam.” On January 7, Meta released a statement titled “More Speech and Fewer Mistakes,” authored by the company’s chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan. The release included a video from Zuckerberg promising a return to the company’s roots of free expression. Meta also announced plans to replace third-party fact-checkers with a community notes model similar to X.com’s. This shift was welcomed by President-elect Donald Trump, who suggested the decision was likely a response to previous threats against Meta. However, some of Meta’s leadership, including oversight board co-chair Michael McConnell, criticized Zuckerberg for yielding to political pressure ahead of Trump’s inauguration. While the blocking of Pixelfed links could be seen as Meta’s attempt to prevent the promotion of direct competitors rather than suppressing free speech, it appears inconsistent with the company’s newly stated vision. The Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board commented that Meta’s recent changes seem more focused on mending political relationships than promoting free speech outright. They suggested that these changes might be motivated by Meta’s desire to reconcile with Republicans who will soon control Washington and to avoid regulation, as well as responding to the electoral message sent by Trump’s election.