The Department of Justice is charging a China-based Zoom executive with aiding the Chinese government to shut down Zoom meetings that commemorated the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
Zoom Interception
According to a document unsealed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on Friday, the executive known as Xinjiang Jin or Julien Jin worked for China’s Ministry of Public Security. His charge is “conspiracy to commit interstate harassment and unlawful conspiracy to transfer a means of identification.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray:
Americans should understand that the Chinese Government will not hesitate to exploit companies operating in China to further their international agenda, including repression of free speech.
Between May and June 2020, Mr. Jin and others acted to disrupt meetings held on the Zoom to discuss politically sensitive topics unacceptable to the PRC government by infiltrating the meetings to gather evidence about purported misconduct occurring in those meetings.
Although it’s not likely he will be extradited to the U.S., he is wanted [PDF] by the FBI and could face up to 10 years in prison.