Meta Censoring 'ICE List' Links to Platforms As Mark Zuckerberg Cosies up to Trump Admin

Users who might look to posting links to a website serving as a database for ICE and Border Patrol officers on Meta-owned social media platforms might have difficulty including the links. It was found that the links to the websites were being censored on the platform amid the overtures made by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to the Trump administration.

Users have struggled since Monday to post links on their accounts on the Meta-owned social media platforms to the database, also referred to as 'ICE List'. Framed as an 'accountability initiative', the database gained traction after it received details of over 4,500 ICE and Border Patrol workers. This included almost 2,000 agents.

Meta Restricts Links on Facebook and Threads

Since it was first reported upon, the website has since faced roadblocks in the form of censorship. Now, Meta is included among those seemingly trying to keep the said information from going public, by restricting the links to the database on both Facebook and Threads. The alleged censoring began a few days after Alex Pretti was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis.

Users will find an error message should they try to post either wiki.ice.is and icelist.is. On Facebook in particular, posting one or both of the links would result in an error message, saying that any post with any of the two links 'goes against our Community Standards'.

Meta CEO's Overtures to the Trump Administration

The censoring of such links also comes amid CEO Mark Zuckerberg's attempts to cosy up to the Trump administration. Meta, along with its fellow major tech companies like Amazon and Apple, also happen to have donated to the $400-million White House ballroom project. According to the site's founder, Dominick Skinner, the two instances are connected.

'For six or seven months, you could post links to our sites on Meta platforms without any issue. This is an overnight change. It seemed to come directly from after we posted a link asking for tips related to the murder of Alex Pretti,' Skinner told the outlet.

'I believe that Mark Zuckerberg is in bed with the regime. He was sitting behind Trump at the inauguration. His algorithms have worked to shape people into right-wing followers,' Skinner added. 'And Meta donated to the Trump ballroom. I don't believe that it's somehow an accident that a company so deeply ingrained in this regime is suddenly blocking a website that actively fights against it.'

Meta Responds to Allegations

A spokesperson for Meta pointed out the platforms' privacy policy. They cited that Meta removes content that shares or requests private information, either through services or external links. They also said that Meta has taken similar action in the past over a similar issue, however, Skinner did not seem to be convinced.

'We don't share private information, and websites that do can still be shared on Meta's social,' said Skinner. 'I've tested sharing links from other people-search websites and they work fine. So if that's Meta's policy, it only applies to us. You can even share the individual profiles of agents on Meta and that's not an issue, so their explanation doesn't really hold much weight.'