Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former executive at Facebook (now Meta), delivered shocking testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. She accused Meta of undermining U.S. national security, cooperating with China’s Communist Party, and misleading the American public — all in an effort to grow its business in China.
Wynn-Williams, who served as Director of Global Public Policy at Facebook from 2011 to 2017, said Meta executives hid the truth from employees, shareholders, Congress, and the public while chasing profits overseas.
Insider Claims Meta Misled on National Security and China
“We are in a high-stakes AI arms race with China,” Wynn-Williams said in her prepared remarks. “Meta executives lied about their involvement with the Chinese Communist Party to gain business advantages.”
She claimed the company tried to build a presence in China while keeping its actions secret. During her time at Meta, she said leadership betrayed American values to gain favor with Beijing.
She also revealed that Meta:
- Tried to build a data pipeline between the U.S. and China
- Deleted the account of a Chinese dissident under pressure from Beijing
- Used “threats and intimidation” to silence her after she left
Meta Responds: “Riddled With False Claims”
Meta quickly denied Wynn-Williams’ claims, calling her testimony false and misleading.
In a statement, the company said: “We do not operate our services in China today. While Mark Zuckerberg was public about trying to enter the Chinese market, those efforts ended years ago.”
Meta emphasized that its removal of the dissident’s account (billionaire Guo Wengui) had nothing to do with politics but was due to violations of Facebook’s content rules, including the sharing of personal data.
Book Exposes Meta’s Inner Workings
Wynn-Williams recently published a book titled “Careless People”, detailing her time at Meta. The book became a fast bestseller, selling 60,000 copies in its first week and making it to Amazon’s top 10 list.
During the hearing, Senator Richard Blumenthal said Meta tried to discredit the book and silence Wynn-Williams, calling the company’s actions “a campaign of threats and intimidation.”
More Controversy Around Zuckerberg
Wynn-Williams didn’t hold back in her comments about Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, accusing him of constantly shifting personas to gain power.
“When I worked there, he wanted the president of China to name his first child,” she said. “Now he’s into MMA fighting and free speech. Whatever gets him closest to power, that’s what he becomes.”
All This Ahead of a Major Antitrust Trial
The timing of these revelations is especially critical. Meta is just days away from a major antitrust trial brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The case could force the company to break up and sell off major platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp.