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Washington D.C. – A Meta whistleblower, Sarah Wynn-Williams, testified before senators on Wednesday, alleging that Facebook (now Meta) collaborated closely with the Chinese government to censor posts. The accusations add fuel to ongoing debates about tech companies and their relationships with foreign powers.
Wynn-Williams stated, “I saw Meta executives repeatedly undermine U.S. national security and betray American values.” Her claims were revealed during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing led by Republican Senator Josh Hawley, who accused Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg of making “censorship his business model.”
Senator Hawley has requested Zuckerberg’s testimony, stating, “The American people deserve to know the truth about your company.”
Wynn-Williams, who worked at Meta for nearly seven years, claimed the company provided the Chinese Communist Party with tools to censor content. She highlighted an instance in 2017 where a Chinese dissident was removed from Facebook following pressure from Chinese officials. She also described a “virality counter” system that flagged popular posts for review, which Senator Richard Blumenthal called “an Orwellian censor.” This system was allegedly used in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
The whistleblower further alleged that Chinese officials could potentially access American users’ data. Concerns raised by Meta engineers about data security were reportedly dismissed by Meta leadership, including Zuckerberg, who Wynn-Williams claimed was “personally invested” in the company’s relationship with China.
Wynn-Williams also pointed to Meta’s AI model, “Llama,” and its alleged use by DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company. She urged senators to investigate Meta’s role in China’s AI development.
“The greatest trick Mark Zuckerberg ever pulled was wrapping the American flag around himself and calling himself a patriot…while he spent the last decade building an $18 billion business there,” Wynn-Williams stated.
In response, a Meta spokesperson dismissed Wynn-Williams’s testimony as “divorced from reality and riddled with false claims,” emphasizing that Meta’s services are not currently offered in China.
The accusations come amid increasing scrutiny of China’s influence on American tech companies and growing tensions between Washington and Beijing. The Trump administration has already increased tariffs on Chinese goods and continues to push for the sale of TikTok to an American company.
Wynn-Williams recently published a memoir, “Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed and Lost Idealism,” detailing her experiences at Meta.
Source: CBS News
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