And then Mark Zuckerberg lied about it in Congress.

Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, is under investigation by a U.S. Senate committee for alleged efforts to develop censorship tools and share user data with the Chinese government. This inquiry follows whistleblower claims and reports suggesting that Meta sought to enter the Chinese market by potentially compromising user privacy and free speech.

In 2016, Facebook reportedly developed software to suppress posts in specific regions, allowing third parties to monitor and control content visibility. This move was seen as an attempt to comply with China's stringent internet regulations and gain access to its vast user base.

More to read:
Irish regulator fines Meta €251 million for security breach that affected millions of users globally

Further allegations arise from Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former Facebook executive, who disclosed recently that Meta initiated "Project Aldrin" in 2014.

This project aimed to create a censorship system tailored for China and considered providing the Chinese government with access to user data, including that of Hong Kong residents.

A video of her testimony is here.

Despite these efforts, Meta has publicly denied operating in China and stated that it chose not to proceed with the explored ideas in 2019, denying any collaboration with Beijing during Congress hearings.

The Senate committee's investigation seeks to uncover the extent of Meta's interactions with Chinese officials and any potential misrepresentations made to Congress regarding these activities.

***

When you send us a coffee-worth amount, you are funding a small, science-loving media outlet. For 1 euro a month, you actually get a subscription to select topics covered from an unbiased point of view, in an easy to crack way to digest. You are also welcome to send as much as you like, any amount is welcome: PayPal office[at]rudeana.com or https://paypal.me/newscafeeu, or https://buymeacoffee.com/newscafe .