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Former Meta executive Sarah Wynn-Williams testified before a Senate judiciary subcommittee on Wednesday, alleging the company compromised national security to build an $18 billion business in China. Wynn-Williams, who served as global public policy director at Facebook, claimed she witnessed Meta executives provide the Chinese Communist Party with access to user data, including that of American citizens.
"I watched as executives decided to provide the Chinese Communist Party with access to the data of Meta users," Wynn-Williams stated under oath. Her testimony further alleged that Meta worked "hand in glove" with Beijing to develop censorship tools designed to silence critics of the Chinese government.
Meta vehemently denies these accusations. Company spokesman Ryan Daniels responded, "Sarah Wynn-Williams' testimony is divorced from reality and riddled with false claims." Daniels acknowledged CEO Mark Zuckerberg's previous interest in offering services in China but emphasized, "The fact is this: we do not operate our services in China today."
One specific allegation involves Chinese dissident Guo Wengui, who lives in the United States. According to Wynn-Williams, Meta deleted Guo's Facebook account at China's request. Meta counters that Guo's page was unpublished for violating the company's Community Standards.
The hearing was led by Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, who claimed Meta had "stopped at absolutely nothing to prevent" Wynn-Williams' testimony. Hawley alleged the company threatened her with "$50,000 in punitive damages every time she mentions Facebook in public, even if the statements she is making are true."
Wynn-Williams recently published a memoir titled "Careless People" detailing her experiences at the company. Meta won an emergency ruling temporarily blocking promotion of the book, calling it "false and defamatory."
In her testimony, Wynn-Williams also claimed Meta's Llama AI model "significantly" contributed to Chinese AI advancement, specifically citing DeepSeek as an example. She urged Congress to intervene, saying Meta's actions posed an ongoing danger to American security interests.
This testimony follows other high-profile whistleblower cases against Meta, including Frances Haugen, who alleged the company disregarded teen mental health, and Arturo Béjar, who raised similar concerns about user safety.
"The last four weeks have been very difficult," Wynn-Williams told senators, describing personal hardships resulting from her decision to speak out. "Even the choice to come and speak to Congress is incredibly difficult."
Meta declined to directly answer whether Wynn-Williams might face financial penalties for her congressional testimony, stating only that the separation agreement she signed in 2017 includes provisions for damages related to violations of non-disparagement clauses.
