Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former director at Meta, delivered a searing testimony earlier than the Senate Judiciary Committee this week, accusing the tech big of compromising American values and nationwide safety to develop its enterprise in China. She alleged that Meta – previously Fb – collaborated with the Chinese language Communist Occasion (CCP) to develop censorship instruments and facilitate entry to person knowledge, together with info on Individuals. Her remarks have reignited scrutiny of Meta’s operations and its ties to authoritarian regimes.
Wynn-Williams, who served as Fb’s Director of World Public Coverage from 2011 to 2017, painted a damning image of the corporate’s push to enter the profitable Chinese language market. She claimed that Meta executives misled staff, shareholders, Congress, and the general public about their actions in China.
Meta allegedly started providing merchandise in China as early as 2014 and was briefing CCP officers on rising applied sciences like synthetic intelligence by 2015. Wynn-Williams linked these briefings to latest stories that establishments tied to the Individuals’s Liberation Military have used Meta’s AI mannequin, Llama, for navy functions.
The testimony additionally referenced inner paperwork during which Meta pitched its companies to assist China “improve world affect and promote the China Dream.” Wynn-Williams accused the corporate of pursuing a “secret mission” to construct an undersea cable between China and the US – a plan she mentioned was solely halted after congressional intervention.
Meta has denied the allegations, with spokesman Andy Stone calling her claims “divorced from actuality.” He acknowledged that the corporate explored coming into the Chinese language market greater than a decade in the past however emphasised that Meta doesn’t function companies in China in the present day. Stone additionally accused Wynn-Williams of reviving outdated and false accusations from her bestselling memoir, Careless Individuals: A Cautionary Story of Energy, Greed, and Misplaced Idealism. The ebook has change into a flashpoint on this controversy, with Meta in search of to forestall her from selling it as a consequence of a non-disparagement clause in her separation settlement.
Her testimony comes at appreciable private threat. Wynn-Williams defied an arbitrator’s order prohibiting her from talking publicly about Meta and claimed the corporate now desires $50,000 in damages for every time she mentions Fb. Regardless of the authorized threats, Careless Individuals has climbed bestseller lists and earned reward for its unflinching critique of Meta’s company tradition.
The Washington Submit notes that senators from each events expressed alarm over her disclosures. Senator Josh Hawley questioned Zuckerberg’s dedication to free speech in gentle of those revelations.
“I do not belief this newest reinvention in any respect,” Hawley mentioned, referring to Zuckerberg’s latest rhetoric about defending free expression whereas allegedly silencing critics like Wynn-Williams.
Senator Chuck Grassley echoed these considerations, calling her allegations “very troubling” and accusing Meta of rolling out “the pink carpet” for the CCP.
One significantly hanging episode concerned Meta allegedly proscribing Guo Wengui’s account in 2017 after stress from Chinese language regulators. Guo, a distinguished critic of Beijing, was reportedly focused as a part of Meta’s efforts to achieve favor with Chinese language authorities. Inner notes from that point acknowledged the stress, stating that motion was essential “to get the get together’s cooperation.” When requested about this throughout a earlier Senate listening to, Meta’s then-general counsel Colin Stretch acknowledged that firm insurance policies led to the choice – a press release Wynn-Williams known as a lie.
The whistleblower additionally testified that Zuckerberg was deeply concerned in efforts to enter the Chinese language market.
“This was a challenge not like every other … it was so centrally led by Mark Zuckerberg,” she mentioned.
Her grievance filed with the Securities and Change Fee detailed how Meta developed a censorship system for China codenamed “Undertaking Aldrin.” The plan concerned appointing a “chief editor” to close down content material throughout social unrest and giving CCP officers entry to person knowledge.
Though Meta formally deserted its China ambitions in 2019, Wynn-Williams argued that the nation stays a major income supply for the corporate. She cited SEC filings displaying that income from Chinese language advertisers totaled $18.35 billion in 2024 – greater than doubling from 2022 financials.
In closing her testimony, Wynn-Williams urged Congress to carry Meta accountable for what she described as years of deception and complicity with authoritarian regimes.
“Meta has been prepared to compromise its values, sacrifice the safety of its customers, and undermine American pursuits to construct its China enterprise,” she declared. “It has been occurring for years, lined up by lies, and continues to today.”
