Sarah Wynn-Williams, who previously served as Facebook’s Head of Global Public Policy, appeared before the U.S. Senate today to discuss the company’s ties with China.
Wynn-Williams stated that the organization currently referred to as Meta collaborated closely with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to "jeopardize U.S. national security and violate American values," according to her remarks.
She alleges that Facebook created custom-built censorship tools for the CCP, which gave a “chief editor” extensive power over content moderation to the point that they could choose to shut off service completely in certain regions of China or on certain dates, like the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
Meta denied Wynn-Williams’ allegations.
Sarah Wynn-Williams' account diverges sharply from the truth and is filled with inaccurate assertions," stated Ryan Daniels, a representative for Meta, in an official comment to Massima. "Although Mark Zuckerberg openly discussed our company’s desire to provide our services within China years back, and extensive reports have covered these plans since more than ten years ago, the current situation remains unchanged—we do not offer our services inside China at present.
Wynn-Williams' testimony generated significant anticipation. She released a book in March detailing her experiences at Facebook titled " Thoughtless Individuals: A Warning About Authority, Covetousness, and Vanished Principles .”
The following day after the book’s release, Meta emerged victorious. interim decision From an arbitrator who stated that Wynn-Williams breached a nondisclosure agreement she entered into upon leaving the firm. However, Meta’s wish to restrict the book’s distribution appears to have achieved the reverse outcome—now, the book has gained more attention. Number 2 on The New York Times Best Sellers list under non-fiction.
Meta informed Massima that the arbitration ruling doesn’t stop her from communicating with Congress and that the firm has no plans to obstruct her legal rights. Additionally, they mentioned that their dealings with China are widely known public knowledge.
Towards the end of Wynn-Williams' term in 2017, Facebook introduced a photo-sharing application named Colorful Balloons in China, along with another app called Moments. Meta notes that this occurred during that time. previously reported And it acknowledges in official documents that it earns advertising income from China, despite the fact that platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are prohibited there.
Per Meta’s own 10-K filing In 2024, it generated $18.3 billion in revenue, an increase from $13.69 billion in 2023 and $7.4 billion in 2022.
Wynn-Williams argues that Meta’s connection to the Chinese government is more extensive, however.
She provided documents to Congress, and Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) displayed certain censored versions of these papers during the hearing.
In an email, it seemed that Facebook leaders had considered giving the CCP permission to view user information from China and Hong Kong.
Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) stated that "It seems Facebook was prepared to share user data from Hong Kong with the Chinese government during a period when pro-democracy demonstrators were resisting Beijing’s suppression." He then questioned Wynn-Williams about this claim, who confirmed its accuracy.
As part of the censorship system that was created, there were virality trackers—so whenever a piece of content reached more than 10,000 views, it would automatically be flagged for review by someone referred to as the lead editor," she explained. "What stood out was that these virality trackers weren’t merely set up but were actually turned on both in Hong Kong and in Taiwan.
Senator Blumenthal highlighted that Zuckerberg had formerly refuted under oath the notion that Facebook had developed censorship tools for entering the Chinese market.
Wynn-Williams also mentioned that if Meta were to provide Chinese user data to the Chinese government, technologically speaking, she believes there wouldn’t be a method to prevent American users who have engaged with Chinese users from having their data shared as well.
She alleged that Meta had informed China about advancements related to several technologies such as artificial intelligence and facial recognition.
"The cleverest move by Mark Zuckerberg was draping the American flag around his shoulders and proclaiming himself a patriot, all while claiming not to provide services in China as he expanded his $18 billion enterprise there over the past ten years," stated Wynn-Williams during the hearing at the Senate.
"And he keeps wrapping the flag around himself as we transition into the new age of artificial intelligence," she noted.