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Meta World Affairs Director Joel Kaplan said that the company’s decision not to offer services in China has enabled the technological company to better defend the basic principles surrounding free expression.
Kaplan’s comments echo a statement made by the Meta-PDG Mark Zuckerberg at Georgetown University in 2019, where he explained why Facebook, Instagram and other services do not offer in China.
“I wanted our services in China because I believe in connection with the whole world and I thought we could help create a more open society,” Zuckerberg said at the time.
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Meta Services, such as Facebook and Instagram, is not currently working in China. (Lionel Bonaventure / AFP / Guang Niu / Getty Images / Getty Images)
“I worked hard to get there. But we could never achieve an agreement on what we need to operate there, and they have never let us enter. And now we have more freedom to speak and defend the values in which we believe and to fight for freedom of expression in the world,” he continued.
Meta-service is currently blocked in China. However, the company still generates income thanks to partnerships with Chinese advertisers which are aimed at users of other global markets.
During an appearance on Wednesday at Dialogue Conference, Kaplan noted that Meta, formerly Facebook, had previously expressed interest in providing services to the Chinese market, but finally decided not to do so.
The Meta logo is seen at the Vivatech Show in Paris, in France, June 14, 2023. (AP photo / Thibault Camus / AP Newsroom)
“We were ultimately unable to achieve an agreement to do things that would be necessary to offer our services in China, the things that are requested by companies, which offer their services in China, you know, many of which are some well-known household names,” he said.
Referring to Zuckerberg’s comments in 2019, Kaplan said that this decision had released the meta as “less congested” in defense and standing respect behind the principles of freedom of expression.
“In the end, it is a better position for us, the one where we can continue to defend and talk about the values on which Facebook has been founded and its roots in freedom of expression,” he continued.
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Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms Inc., Center, arrives for the 60th presidential inauguration in the rotunda of the American Capitol in Washington, DC, Monday, January 20, 2025. (Shawn TheW / EPA / Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Kaplan was used to lead the Meta World Political Team in January. He joined Meta in 2011 and was previously a deputy chief of staff for the policy in the administration George W. Bush.
Meta did not return the request for comments from Fox Business.
