U.S. Surgeon General documents reveal pressure on social media companies

Documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act reveal that the Biden administration, specifically the office of U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, sought to exert “maximum pressure” on social media platforms like Meta to manage what it termed “health and medical misinformation.”

Internal communications from 2021 indicate that the administration's scope extended beyond COVID-19, aiming to address broader health and medical misinformation and its impact on social media users, particularly young people. One Meta employee noted in a congressional investigation that the Surgeon General’s office requested the removal of information regarding side effects.

In July 2021, President Biden stated, “They’re killing people,” following the Surgeon General's office's preparation of a formal advisory on misinformation. These documents suggest that the administration viewed the management of social media content as a core component of public health rather than a temporary emergency measure.