EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Abe Hamadeh demands answers from Meta over whistleblower claims of CCP-compliant censorship
Arizona GOP Rep. Abe Hamadeh is demanding answers from Meta over a company whistleblower’s allegations of “Chinese Communist Party (CCP) censorship policies.”
Hamadeh sent Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg a letter, exclusively obtained by the Washington Reporter, regarding the whistleblower’s allegations of the social media giant’s kowtowing to CCP censorship efforts in America.
In the letter, Hamadeh wrote that the “whistleblower complaint to the Securities and Exchange Commission from Meta's former global policy director, that Meta (formerly Facebook) engaged in efforts to accommodate Chinese Communist Party (CCP) censorship policies, suppress political dissent, and compromise user privacy in pursuit of market access in China.”
“According to the 78-page complaint augmented by internal Meta documents, Meta executives developed a censorship system, planned to install a CCP-approved "chief editor" to oversee content, and restricted the account of a U.S.-based Chinese dissident at the request of a high-ranking CCP official,” Hamadeh said. “These claims, if true, indicate a willingness to collaborate with an authoritarian regime to suppress free expression contradicting Meta's public statements on free speech and digital rights.”
“Meta's past actions such as deplatforming President Donald J. Trump, and censorship against American citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic at the behest of U.S. government agencies and to protect Chinese narratives-demonstrate a troubling pattern of compliance with government-driven speech suppression, both at home and abroad. 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 and other totalitarian regimes. Given Meta's substantial influence over public debate and democratic processes, this matter demands immediate transparency and accountability.”
Hamadeh also peppered Zuckerberg with questions, including whether Meta developed, tested, or proposed “a censorship system tailored for the CCP,” as the whistleblower alleged, and if Meta has “taken any action- directly or indirectly—to suppress accounts or content at the request of the CCP, including the alleged suppression of Chinese dissident Guo Wengui’s account.”
A Meta spokesperson told the Reporter, “This is all pushed by an employee terminated eight years ago for poor performance.”
“We do not operate our services in China today. It is no secret we were once interested in doing so as part of Facebook’s effort to connect the world,” the spokesperson said. “This was widely reported beginning a decade ago. We ultimately opted not to go through with the ideas we'd explored, which Mark Zuckerberg announced in 2019."
Hamadeh’s letter comes as GOP scrutiny of social media companies hits a fever pitch.
The allegations of Meta kowtowing to CCP orders also raises serious questions about Meta’s past practices when it relates to China and censorship.