Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former Meta Platforms Inc. executive-turned-whistleblower, testified before Congress that the social media giant threatened US interests while cozying up to China — claims the company said are false.
Wynn-Williams, who served as director of global public policy for the company until she left in 2017, told the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism on Wednesday that she witnessed executives undermining US national security. The testimony included allegations that Meta, formerly called Facebook, offered censorship tools to China and helped the country advance in an artificial intelligence arms race.
“Meta started briefing the Chinese Communist Party as early as 2015,” said Wynn-Williams, who recently published a memoir titled Careless People about her experience at Facebook. “These briefings focused on critical emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence. The explicit goal being to help China outcompete American companies.” These briefings took place at “every level” of the company, including with its leadership, she said.
In her testimony, Wynn-Williams suggested that there’s a “straight line” to draw from these briefings to China’s current use of Meta’s AI tools to build out its military capabilities. She pointed to reporting from Reuters that alleges that Chinese researchers linked to the People’s Liberation Army developed an AI model for military use based on Meta’s technology. The company has questioned this reporting.
Wynn-Williams said she’s faced threats and intimidation from the company in the wake of publishing Careless People. The memoir vaulted to the top of best-seller lists after Meta succeeded in getting an emergency arbitrator to block her from repeating disparaging remarks about the company. Her book has drawn the interest of lawmakers, including Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri who leads the Senate Judiciary subcommittee.
Both Democrats and Republicans admonished Meta during the hearing for its efforts to silence Wynn-Williams. The lawmakers also suggested Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg was disingenuous when describing himself as a champion of free speech. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, called the company’s actions “despicable” and “disgusting.”
“Did you sense that he had any red line?” Blumenthal asked Wynn-Williams of Zuckerberg’s efforts to win the favour of the Chinese Communist Party.
“I did not,” Wynn-Williams said.
On Tuesday, after Wynn-Williams’s prepared introductory remarks were first reported by NBC News, a representative for Meta said that her comments were “divorced from reality and riddled with false claims.”
Zuckerberg has been public about the company’s past interest in offering services in China “and details were widely reported beginning over a decade ago,” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said. But “the fact is this: We do not operate our services in China today.”
Facebook never succeeded in launching in the country, and the social media platform is still banned there over censorship issues. But during the Wednesday hearing, Wynn-Williams highlighted Meta’s ongoing business within the nation — pointing to corporate filings that reference the billions in revenue Meta gets from advertisers in China each year.
The Senate hearing further underscores US lawmakers present-day interest in China’s influence on technology platforms. TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance Ltd., is facing a possible ban in the US and its future remains unclear due to national security concerns. The early success of China-based AI model DeepSeek has also raised concerns about censorship.
Congressional interest doesn’t appear to be waning. Hawley joined a bipartisan cohort of lawmakers in early April to investigate Wynn-Williams’ claims that Meta provided AI tools, including surveillance software, to the Chinese Communist Party. Looking beyond Meta’s past China ties, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary subcommittee also raised concerns about Wynn-Williams’ allegations about Meta’s impact on children’s health and called for renewed legislative efforts.
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