[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},"mediaId",6072606,"mediaKeyId","3019083-072c3b482ef16aee0992ae6bd63724f8","parentId",3019083,"title","Whistleblower says Meta sought emergency gag order and used arbitration to silence testimony","audioSeconds",6332,"startMs",1135965,"endMs",7468715,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3019083-072c3b482ef16aee0992ae6bd63724f8&start=1135&end=7468","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3019083-072c3b482ef16aee0992ae6bd63724f8/thumbnail_1135965.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6072606/Whistleblower-says-Meta-sought-emergency-gag-order-and-used-arbitration-to-silence-testimony","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6072606-f86a04aa5ccb077ba6e034f8aeb57765/orig.mp4?Expires=1770817630&Signature=GmJupRGNJW4b4KwfpwmnLRvUAcAb53DMSCJYZMqcdtweelsfszCpHfqW-3gN1X0wOfCsmP6~BO3Yc0NKHiSAb~ICGviYPROLXx7RNjI4Dd1tSfHWr~bN6zwv0lVyeQ-exG4ulw1PDV~TIbqLv8WlALAJ8sV6WzAs9NDtACd-4NvJyhWJ7H2EIgJTHXR7W3iRJYXLl~JWP-PK37zStioj9clPbeQ4bbZfzLiIKD9h2~v0k2V1y-MkxqvI6hCB0h6nFwFDlPlUVlOCGZcffx50R3RZczpXM63rOCc8qBMrVkaL4wVf5iBen8ctGBJW29eSQhMWPTumEH9J9i6p1lzTnQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary","date","2025-04-09T00:00:00Z","article","Sarah Wynne Williams told the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee that Meta pursued emergency arbitration and a sweeping gag order that has limited her ability to speak publicly and even communicate with members of Congress.

Williams described the arbitration process as opaque and described being unaware of the emergency filing until a court order arrived at her home. She told senators the order “is so expansive that it prohibits me from speaking with members of congress” and said Meta’s legal posture included threats of “actual and punitive damages” tied to alleged breaches of confidentiality.

Chairman Hawley said the company had “threatened her, get this, with $50,000 in punitive damages every time she mentions Facebook in public.” Williams confirmed that the company used a defunct email address to serve the emergency arbitration notice and that she had not had notice or opportunity to participate in the initial proceeding.

Why it matters: senators from both parties described the episode as an example of how forced arbitration clauses and emergency arbitration can be used to silence critics and chill whistleblowing. Several members on the panel said they would pursue legislative remedies, including protections for whistleblowers and more limits on pre‑dispute arbitration for matters of public importance.

Details from the hearing:
- Williams said the emergency arbitrator issued a broad gag order; she recounted the arrival of the order at her home and said she had not been properly notified of the arbitration proceeding.
- Committee members described the clause as a tool Meta and other firms can use to “silence whistleblowers”; Senator Blumenthal and others said the committee is working on legislative protections and referenced ongoing bills (including a forced-arbitration reform, the FAIR Act, in discussion by senators).
- Williams testified she had filed shareholder resolutions and whistleblower complaints with the SEC and DOJ and said Meta threatened liquidated damages and other legal consequences for public statements.

Senators asked Meta to stop attempts to gag Williams and invited the company’s executives to testify under oath. Williams said at one point, “This may be the last time I’m allowed to speak,” and senators pledged to pursue oversight and legislative changes to arbitration law and whistleblower protections.

No formal committee vote was taken; senators signaled follow‑up oversight and legislative interest in limiting forced arbitration and protecting witnesses.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","A Time for Truth: Oversight of Meta’s Foreign Relations and Representations to the United States Congress","oneSentenceSummary","Sarah Wynne Williams told the Senate subcommittee that Meta pursued emergency arbitration and a broad gag order that, she said, could impose $50,000 penalties for each so‑called disparaging comment and even bar communications with congressional aides; senators called the practice abusive and discussed legislative fixes for forced arbitration.","taxTitle","Judiciary: Senate Committee, Standing Committees - House & Senate, Congressional Hearings Compilation, Legislative, Federal","taxId",1997,"location","","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6072612,"Senators hear whistleblower say Meta targeted teens’ emotional states to sell ads",5921,1324220,7245785,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3019083-072c3b482ef16aee0992ae6bd63724f8&start=1324&end=7245","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3019083-072c3b482ef16aee0992ae6bd63724f8/thumbnail_1324220.jpg","/articles/6072612/Senators-hear-whistleblower-say-Meta-targeted-teens-emotional-states-to-sell-ads","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6072612-cc68163d5de53e54a4438d028265164b/orig.mp4?Expires=1770817630&Signature=hYlR4egwjQ1Ug~X5Hk3j9iq9DLD~FNyeeuSO1ZBesY6NElmC3qP9KPrHsUcNAlBbeds8BA78NO-uN8zstKQJF7DVLP0bIVoznM-JsVWadPFJp6rYfREWRMEJHMin3QNAqywG5ICZ68QTGDgQBr7hxAp8euqQtZ13zTzMopqEyv-U7czcE5j9Iw9m40bA7kZLWrv20-ALF4vCmAQfuUcI0XI1G4LKN0XypdR113DF8i2UrjR8sX6MlRDavMcBY76Q3PfPOMeEcg3iHmqdQcCe3VkTYYPEL~JjYK2uTQJMado7lxLmJhnuCI~9bTT1P6hzbPzfeKWOxywU1H8K9qH8fQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Former Facebook policy director Sarah Wynne Williams told the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee that Meta used behavioral signals from teenagers to target advertising and optimize engagement, a practice senators said prioritized profit over child safety.

Williams described internal research and product design decisions that identified signals such as when a 13‑ to 17‑year‑old “deleted a selfie” and used those signals to serve targeted ads; she said advertisers were given cues to reach users when they were feeling “worthless or helpless.”

Senator Marsha Blackburn, a co‑sponsor of the Kids Online Safety Act, told Williams the targeting approach was \"completely disgusting,\" and described Meta’s conduct as placing revenue ahead of child welfare. Senator Amy Klobuchar and others referenced earlier committee bills and past whistleblowers as evidence that platforms have repeatedly prioritized engagement metrics.

Why it matters: Committee members said the testimony underlines regulatory gaps and reinforced previous bipartisan efforts such as the Kids Online Safety Act, which passed the Senate previously but did not become law.

Details cited at the hearing included Williams’s account that:
- Advertisers received signals that indicated a teen’s emotional state and could serve ads tailored to those moments (example given: deleted selfies used to serve beauty-product ads).
- Internal discussions referenced targeting “13 to 17 year olds” by surfacing indicators such as body‑confidence issues and emotional vulnerability.
- Meta executives were aware of harms and sometimes restricted their own children’s access to company products, while continuing business practices that monetized teen engagement.

Senators said the testimony supported ongoing legislative efforts. Multiple members reiterated that if firms can rapidly remove or suppress content when motivated (for example, for compliance or to appease foreign governments), the companies possess equivalent engineering capability to address nonconsensual intimate‑image removal, fentanyl sales, and other online harms when prioritized.

No formal votes took place during the hearing. Senators requested additional documents and pledged to press for legislative remedies addressing child safety and platform accountability.","Sarah Wynne Williams told a Senate subcommittee that Facebook/Meta tracked signals from 13–17‑year‑old users—examples included deleted selfies and signs of low self‑worth—and provided those signals to advertisers. Senators cited the Kids Online Safety Act and earlier whistleblowers as context while pressing Meta’s accountability.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6072619,"Whistleblower tells Senate Meta built censorship tools for China and planned data access",4897,2531061,7428955,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3019083-072c3b482ef16aee0992ae6bd63724f8&start=2531&end=7428","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3019083-072c3b482ef16aee0992ae6bd63724f8/thumbnail_2531061.jpg","/articles/6072619/Whistleblower-tells-Senate-Meta-built-censorship-tools-for-China-and-planned-data-access","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6072619-dccfde99e59d7be95005572a3fdbe763/orig.mp4?Expires=1770817630&Signature=m0tyG1R3817GGLhpmSfTDcXrGyUVgGd6Z2UxTAmu5CNFutMSyE~byqnG5gZ3s5F8zsX64Ba~~ATktCxqYaVi7pl1XbKTR-5OdztZN-c3h~BO2HwBT30i0jr60UhxctU~CO0HoR~zQaaWpfIpc6CCCkY~VzwuLmbhdRKS4DRvYqDNoLfVXZ8F8u--tYNDW7vBM3L1thh42XsLp~bFDbymqncTJD8vUp2fBQBXTuAvtkqXfmreslA7jp-j-vXxP-HxZQNiRPAT0PO491owoRZSuPM8ICXRuHeNZSbAEuchJVC~EW63l5SgSJ-gQjRKhVoY5t1e9DY-OhFT5H3U10gqWQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","A Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on claims about Meta’s dealings with China devolved into sharp allegations on national security after Sarah Wynne Williams, a former director of global public policy at Facebook, testified that company executives worked with Chinese officials to build censorship systems and sought access to user data stored in China.

Williams told the subcommittee that “Meta executives repeatedly undermine US national security and betray American values” and that the company “built an $18,000,000,000 business in China.” She said Meta developed “custom built censorship tools” for Chinese authorities and “provided the Chinese Communist Party with access to meta user data, including that of Americans.”

The testimony echoed opening remarks from Chairman Josh Hawley, who described the witness as “a whistleblower” and said the company had sought to block her testimony through litigation and other measures. Hawley noted earlier in the hearing that Meta had “threatened her, get this, with $50,000 in punitive damages every time she mentions Facebook in public.”

Why it matters: senators from both parties said the allegations raise national-security concerns because China’s state apparatus can use censorship and data access to surveil dissidents and foreign contacts, and because technical briefings on artificial intelligence could accelerate adversarial capabilities.

Most senators pressed Williams for documentary evidence and pledged further investigation. Ranking member Dick Durbin and others said the statements mirror disclosures from past whistleblowers and suggested the committee would pursue subpoenas and document requests. Senator Chuck Grassley said the panel would ask Meta to “fully cooperate.”

Key assertions from Williams and supporting documents cited at the hearing included:
- Internal notes and chats describing plans to identify and block content that China already blocked as a “test” and to “build trust” with Chinese officials by taking additional steps.
- A referenced initiative called “Project Aldrin,” described in testimony as a restricted effort to expand Meta’s footprint in China, including infrastructure that could route data through Chinese servers.
- Discussion of “pop servers” and data localization that Williams said would mix Chinese and non-Chinese data on Chinese soil; she testified that “you can’t segregate data” on those servers and that the configuration could allow Chinese access to messages exchanged with Americans.
- Briefings to Chinese officials on emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence models; Williams testified that Meta briefed Chinese researchers and officials about AI and that “Llama has contributed significantly to Chinese advances in AI technologies like DeepSeek.”

Senators repeatedly contrasted Williams’s account with prior public testimony from Meta executives. Senator Richard Blumenthal said the evidence shows Meta “lied to Congress” about the scope of its China activity and its technical readiness, and he described internal tools (for example, a “virality counter” that routed high‑view content to a “chief editor”) that Williams said were deployed in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Williams also described internal security concerns raised by engineers and said those concerns were overridden. “My understanding is that the risk is the hardest part of the plan, so it’s unthinkable that [Zuckerberg] was unaware of the risk,” she testified when asked whether Mark Zuckerberg understood the risks.

No committee vote or formal action was taken at the hearing. Senators from both parties said the committee would pursue further document review and investigative steps; Grassley and others indicated that the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations would also press the matter.

The committee accepted Williams’s offer to provide documents; senators asked for production of the internal chats, engineering notes, and other records she cited. Williams also said she had filed shareholder resolutions and whistleblower complaints with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice.

The hearing closed with repeated calls from senators for Meta executives to answer questions under oath. Chairman Hawley told the company to “stop trying to gag her. Come to this committee. Take an oath. Sit there. Let us question you and give the American people the truth.”","At a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing, former Facebook executive Sarah Wynne Williams testified that Meta developed censorship tools for Chinese authorities, sought data access in China that could expose U.S. users, and briefed Chinese officials on AI — allegations senators said contradict prior testimony to Congress.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Whistleblower says Meta sought emergency gag order and used arbitration to silence testimony

Senators hear whistleblower say Meta targeted teens’ emotional states to sell ads

Whistleblower tells Senate Meta built censorship tools for China and planned data access