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