Meta Undermined National Security, Betrayed American Values To Expand In China, Claims Whistleblower

A former top official at Meta, Sarah Wynn-Williams, has come forward with explosive allegations, claiming the tech giant jeopardised US national security in its attempt to grow its business footprint in China.

Her testimony, delivered during a congressional hearing led by Senator Josh Hawley, accused Meta of making calculated decisions that enabled the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to access sensitive user data, including information belonging to American citizens, reported NDTV.

"I saw Meta executives repeatedly undermine US national security and betray American values," Wynn-Williams stated in her opening remarks, according to CBS News.

Allegations Of Censorship Collaboration And Data Sharing

Wynn-Williams asserted that Meta not only allowed potential access to user data but also actively supported Beijing's censorship efforts. She claimed the company built customised tools to help the Chinese government moderate content and suppress dissent.

"The greatest trick Mark Zuckerberg ever pulled was wrapping the American flag around himself and calling himself a patriot and saying he didn't offer services in China, while he spent the last decade building an $18 billion business there," she said.

Senator Hawley underscored the seriousness of the matter during the hearing, stating Meta had done everything possible to prevent Wynn-Williams from testifying. "Why is it that Facebook is so desperate to prevent this witness from telling what she knows?" he asked.

Meta has firmly rejected the claims. A spokesperson called Wynn-Williams' account "divorced from reality and riddled with false claims." While Meta acknowledged past interest in entering the Chinese market, spokesperson Ryan Daniels clarified, "[T]he fact is this: we do not operate our services in China today."

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AI Links to China And Threat of Legal Action

The testimony also raised concerns around Meta's open-source artificial intelligence tool, Llama. Wynn-Williams alleged that the model had been used by Chinese AI firm DeepSeek, further fuelling concerns about data safety and foreign influence.

In response, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone dismissed the relevance of that claim, and noted, "The alleged role of a single and outdated version of an American open-source model is irrelevant when we know China is already investing over 1T to surpass the US technologically, and Chinese tech companies are releasing their own open AI models as fast, or faster, than US ones."

Adding to the controversy, Wynn-Williams claimed she was threatened with a $50,000 penalty for speaking out, even if her disclosures were truthful. Meta responded by clarifying that the penalty referenced was tied to potential breaches of her separation agreement, and not linked to her congressional testimony.

Her allegations come amid intensifying geopolitical friction between the US and China, as national security concerns, technology rivalry, and economic interests continued to collide. The broader context includes rising tariffs, the potential forced sale of TikTok, and the establishment of a congressional committee to scrutinise China’s growing global influence.

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