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Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former executive who served as Meta’s Director of Global Public Policy, testified before Congress on April 9 regarding the company’s alleged involvement in aiding China’s advancement in the AI race — posing a threat to U.S. national interests. Meta has stated that the claims are false.
Wynn-Williams told the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism that she witnessed senior executives undermining U.S. national security. Her testimony alleged that the AI company offered assistance to China to accelerate its position in the AI arms race.
This help allegedly included a covert relationship between Meta and the Chinese government, the transfer of user data to the Chinese Communist Party, collaboration on custom censorship tools, and the establishment of a “physical pipeline” between China and the US.
Allegations against Meta
In her testimony, she suggested a link between the company briefings and China’s current use of Meta AI tools for its military capabilities. She also referenced reporting from Reuters alleging that China developed an AI model based on Meta’s technology for its military use. However, Meta has disputed the accuracy of that reporting.
Wynn-Williams, who worked for the company from 2011 to 2017, recently published a memoir on her experience working for Meta (formerly known as Facebook) titled “Careless People.” In the book, she leveled allegations about Meta’s internal culture and dealings with China. Meta responded by stating she was terminated for poor performance.
Since publishing “Careless People,” Wynn-Williams said she has faced threats from Meta. The book became a best-seller after the company obtained an emergency arbitration ruling temporarily stopping her from promoting the memoir or making further disparaging remarks. Lawmakers rebuked Meta during the hearing for its attempts to silence Wynn-Williams.
She also brought attention to Meta’s ongoing commercial ties to China, citing corporate filings showing the company earns billions annually from Chinese advertisers. Meta maintains that it has been transparent about its historical efforts to explore business opportunities with China. The social media platform is still banned in China due to censorship concerns.
Wynn-Williams further alleged that Meta’s AI model Llama was used to help Chinese AI company DeepSeek, which recently released an AI model to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT as a less expensive alternative. The early success of the model has also raised concerns about censorship.
Meta’s response to her testimony
A Meta spokesperson responded to Wynn-Williams’s introductory remarks, first reported by NBC News, saying her testimony was “divorced from reality and riddled with false claims.” Still, U.S. lawmakers remain concerned about China’s influence over major tech platforms, especially as platforms like Chinese-owned TikTok face potential bans in the U.S. over national security risks.