The social media giant is aiming to shine up an image
tarnished by the political controversy, including Donald Trump's rise the White
House.
"We plan to keep civic and political groups out of
recommendations for the long term and we plan to expand that policy
globally," Zuckerberg said in an earnings call.
He added that Facebook would also reduce political content
in users' main news feeds as part of a push "to turn down the temperature
and discourage divisive conversation."
The move makes permanent steps taken by Facebook to guard
against being a platform for violent or misleading messages during the US
presidential election.
Facebook last week said it is asking its independent experts
to rule on whether former president Trump's suspension for "fomenting
insurrection" should stand.
Facebook and Instagram suspended Trump after his supporters
stormed the US Capitol on January 6, an attack on the seat of democracy that
led to Trump's unprecedented second impeachment.
The platform is referring the decision to its independent
oversight board, which is tasked with making final decisions on appeals
regarding what is removed or allowed to remain on the world's biggest social
network.
"We believe our decision was necessary and right,"
Facebook vice president of global affairs Nick Clegg said in a blog post at the
time.
Members of the oversight board come from various countries
and include jurists, human rights activists, journalists, a Nobel peace
laureate, and a former Danish prime minister.
Launch of the panel came late last year amid rising concerns
about misinformation and manipulation around the US election.
Reaction to the Trump ban has ranged from criticism that
Facebook should have booted him long ago to outrage over his online voice being
muted.
Zuckerberg said the decision to dial down politics related
recommendations stemmed from user feedback, and will apply globally to the
social network.
"We want these discussions to be able to keep
happening," Zuckerberg said.
"But one of the top pieces of feedback that we are
hearing from our community right now is that people don't want politics and
fighting to take over their experience on our services."
© Reuters