White House tamps down tensions with Facebook over virus misinformation

President Joe Biden and his administration are trying to soften their expressions of frustration with social media platforms over the spread of coronavirus misinformation online.

Biden and his aides are not considering regulatory or legal action to curb misinformation, particularly about COVID-19 shots as vaccination rates plateau, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

"That's up to Congress to determine how they want to proceed moving forward, but let me just note that we're not in a war or a battle with Facebook. We're in a battle with the virus," she told reporters on Monday.

But the administration was not taking "any options off the table," Psaki said. She added that misinformation was being circulated by some media outlets and public officials.