At this point, it would appear that the firm is doing everything in its power to satisfy the incoming administration.
Changes in moderation are not the end of Meta's experiment. In addition, the corporation is reportedly discontinuing its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) activities, as reported by both Axios and The New York Times. According to the reporting of The Times, this includes the elimination of diversity hiring targets, the decision to eliminate the role of chief diversity officer, and the decision to no longer prioritize minority-owned firms as contractors.
As soon as Meta was approached for their thoughts on the termination of DEI initiatives, they verified that the reporting was accurate.
It appears that the corporation is basing the decision on a changed "legal and policy landscape," as stated in a message that was received by Axios and distributed to its workers.
The Vice President of Human Resources at Meta, Janelle Gale, is quoted in the document as saying, "The Supreme Court of the United States has recently made decisions signaling a shift in how courts will approach diversity, equity, and inclusion." "The term 'DEI' has also become charged, in part because it is understood by some as a practice that suggests preferential treatment of some groups over others."
When considering Meta's other recent changes, it appears that there is more going on than the corporation being fearful of a prospective lawsuit. The current Supreme Court is not exactly supportive toward systemic initiatives to address issues of race, gender, and sexuality. However, in the context of Meta's other recent adjustments, it appears that there is more going on than that.
During the same time that Mark Zuckerberg was declaring that Meta was discontinuing third-party fact checking and altering the types of speech that it permits on its platform, 404 Media reported that the business withdrew the transgender and non-binary themes from Messenger, as well as the posts that it had made introducing them. This week, the corporation also confirmed that Zuckerberg is still a fan of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) by adding Dana White, who is a supporter of Trump and the CEO of the UFC, to its board of directors. This is a signal that the company is keen to listen to conservative viewpoints. With everything taken into consideration, it appears that this is less of a reaction to the current atmosphere and more of a reflection of how those in power want to do business moving forward.