US senate examines Metas efforts to get access to China
US senate examines Metas efforts to get access to China
Washington-an investigation committee of the US Senate initiated a review of the efforts of Meta Platform, the parent company of Facebook, on Tuesday in order to gain access to the Chinese market. The committee demands documents from the company that provide information about these activities.
senators call for clarity of meta
Senator Ron Johnson, who is heading to the constant investigation committee, as well as the leading Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal and Senator Josh Hawley, meta-CEO Mark Zuckerberg about the allegations that the company had worked on the development of censorship instruments for the China Communist Party. This was part of the efforts to gain a foothold in the Chinese market, as can be seen from a letter that can be seen by Reuters.
Documents for disclosure by April
The senators require extensive documents to be disclosed, including all corporate communications or protocols of meetings with Chinese government officials since 2014. This information is to be provided by April 21st.
"Project Aldrin" and internal files
The senators refer to reports from the recently published book "Careless People" by former Facebook manager Sarah Wynn-Williams. According to the book, the company developed a “three-year plan” in 2014 to gain access to the Chinese market. This initiative was led under the code name "Project Aldrin".
meta rejects allegations
A spokesman for Meta rejected the allegations. "The allegations come from an employee who was released eight years ago due to poor performance. We do not offer our services in China today. It is no secret that we were interested in doing this at the time to combine the world," said the company. "After all, we decided to see the ideas we had discussed, which Mark Zuckerberg announced 2019."
serious concerns on the part of the senators
Blumenthal expressed serious concerns about the incidents. "Terrifying whistleblower documents checked by the committee draw a devastating image of a company that censored, hides and deceives in order to gain access to the Chinese market," he said.
additional documents and information required
The committee also calls for documents to the subsidiaries and partners of Facebook/Meta in China as well as for the introduction of apps in China, including Colorful Balloons, Flash, Boomerang, Layout, Hyperlapse and MSQRD. In addition, all communications that refer to “Project Aldrin” are to be provided.
The letter also requires records since 2014 that relate to any efforts to censor or remove content at the request of the government, and to remove information on a failed attempt to move a submarine for telecommunications between California and Hong Kong.