Zuckerberg doubles down on free speech—the Facebook way

Enlarge / "I'm here today because I believe we must continue to stand for free expression," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told an audience at Georgetown University Thursday. (credit: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Getty)

Mark Zuckerberg came to Washington, DC, on Thursday to claim the mantle of Martin Luther King and the Founding Fathers as a champion of free speech. Standing in the stately Gaston Hall auditorium at Georgetown University-which has hosted the likes of Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Bono-the Facebook CEO declared, "I'm here today because I believe we must continue to stand for free expression."

And a city full of regulation-hungry politicians and foes of Big Tech undoubtedly thought: How's that working out?

Zuckerberg's highly promoted speech introduced no new Facebook features or initiatives but was a defiant reply to critics of Facebook's destructive effects on global society-manipulating voters, fomenting division, and even aiding genocide. He doubled down on Facebook's handling of the treacherous business of implementing free expression at an unprecedented global scale. Despite considerable evidence that the approach has often fallen short, Zuckerberg still professes optimism: giving people a voice and connecting the world, he believes, are transformationally positive actions. Essentially, he's saying-as he always has-that Facebook is essentially positive.

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