Rep. Abe Hamadeh R-Ariz., has challenged Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta Platforms Inc. about its purported plans for a censored platform in China.
In a post on X, Hamadeh's office wrote: "Today, Congressman Hamadeh sent a letter to Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg regarding a whistleblower's shocking allegations that Meta assisted Communist China in their censorship efforts in America. If true, these claims indicate a willingness to collaborate with an authoritarian regime to suppress free expression, contradicting Meta's public statements on free speech and digital rights. We eagerly await their response."
Hamadeh's office posted the letter the congressman wrote after a Washington Post report about a Securities and Exchange Commission whistleblower complaint filed by Sarah Wynn-Williams, Meta's former global policy director.
Newsmax reported that a Meta spokesperson said her complaint was baseless, pointing to a 2019 Zuckerberg speech in which he said China's censorship rules make operating in the country unworkable.
Hamadeh wrote, "The latest allegations raise urgent questions about whether Meta continues to assist foreign regimes in controlling online discourse or targeting U.S. based dissidents of the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] and other totalitarian regimes."
The Arizona Republican has focused on government controls and access to speech. He posted a release on his U.S. House web page that his work was instrumental to a decision by House leaders to block the distribution of China Daily and other publications managed by the CCP at House facilities.
"There are no circumstances under which the halls of Congress should ever become the domain of foreign propaganda, and from a hostile regime like the Chinese Communist Party," Hamadeh said in a statement.
There is no indication Meta has responded to the congressman's request.
Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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