"Secret mission" Meta secretly helped China advance AI, ex-Facebooker will tell Congress Meta whistleblower can testify to Congress despite gag order on press interviews. Ashley Belanger – Apr 9, 2025 12:07 pm | 12 Facebook whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams left the company in 2018 at the height of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Protestors erected cutouts of Mark Zuckerberg branded "fix Facebook" while lawmakers were grilling the CEO. Credit: Bloomberg / Contributor | Bloomberg Facebook whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams left the company in 2018 at the height of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Protestors erected cutouts of Mark Zuckerberg branded "fix Facebook" while lawmakers were grilling the CEO. Credit: Bloomberg / Contributor | Bloomberg Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more Later today, a former Facebook employee, Sarah Wynn-Williams, will testify to Congress that Meta executives "repeatedly" sought to "undermine US national security and betray American values" in "secret" efforts to "win favor with Beijing and build an $18 billion dollar business in China." In her prepared remarks, which will be delivered at a Senate subcommittee on crime and counterterrorism hearing this afternoon, Wynn-Williams accused Meta of working "hand in glove" with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). That partnership allegedly included efforts to "construct and test custom-built censorship tools that silenced and censored their critics" as well as provide the CCP with "access to Meta user data—including that of Americans." Wynn-Williams worked as Facebook's Director of Global Public Policy from 2011 to 2018. She left at the height of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, as Mark Zuckerberg was being grilled by Congress over misinformation and election interference on its platform. Today, Zuckerberg has attempted to move his company further right in seeming efforts to continue repairing damage from that fallout (with some conservatives still concerned about left-wing bias on social media), and Wynn-Williams' testimony perhaps stands to frustrate Republican lawmakers in control of Congress, just as they may potentially be warming back up to Meta. In her prepared testimony, Wynn-Williams accused Meta executives of lying "about what they were doing with the Chinese Communist Party to employees, shareholders, Congress, and the American public." As early as 2014, Wynn-Williams alleged that Meta "began offering products and services in China." And as early as 2015, they "began briefing" the CCP "on critical emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence," with "the explicit goal being to help China outcompete American companies," Wynn-Williams claimed. "There’s a straight line you can draw from these briefings to the recent revelations that China is developing AI models for military use, relying on Meta’s Llama model," Wynn-Williams' remarks said, seemingly referring to a November Reuters report where researchers warned that "top Chinese research institutions linked to the People's Liberation Army have used Meta's publicly available Llama model to develop an AI tool for potential military applications." According to Wynn-Williams, "Meta’s internal documents describe their sales pitch for why China should allow them in the market by 'help[ing] China increase global influence and promote the China Dream.'" Wynn-Williams will tell Congress that "Meta does not dispute these facts. They can’t. I have the documents. As recently as this Monday, they claimed they do not operate services in China. Another lie." Raising its defense, Meta has claimed that Wynn-Williams' book makes "false accusations" and allegations that are "out-of-date and previously reported," NBC News reported. In 2019, Mark Zuckerberg gave a speech admitting that Facebook never reached an agreement with China "on what it would take for us to operate there, and they never let us in," NBC News noted. By that point, Wynn-Williams was no longer with the company, and Meta's spokesperson Andy Stone told NBC News that "Wynn-Williams’ testimony is divorced from reality and riddled with false claims." "While Mark Zuckerberg himself was public about our interest in offering our services in China and details were widely reported beginning over a decade ago, the fact is this: We do not operate our services in China today," Stone said. Asked for comment, Meta shared the same statement. Congress must intervene, again, Meta whistleblower says Wynn-Williams said that her testimony comes in defiance of an arbitrator's order to cease promoting her book about her nearly seven years at Facebook and retract claims that were "disparaging, critical, or otherwise detrimental" to Meta, NBC News noted. Meta sought the order to enforce a non-disparagement clause in Wynn-Williams' contract, but it didn't stop her book from becoming a bestseller or block Wynn-Williams from testifying today. Ahead of her testimony, Careless People sits at No. 2 on The New York Times nonfiction bestsellers list. "The American people deserve to know the truth," Wynn-Williams will testify as explanation for her decision to defy Meta's gag order, which, she said, "is so expansive that it prohibits me from speaking with Members of Congress." Stone told NBC News that Meta only "objects" to her giving media interviews and claimed that "the company’s position is that she’s not barred from testifying before Congress, by either her separation agreement or the arbitration award." In her prepared testimony, Wynn-Williams warned that Meta's "secret mission" to build "a physical pipeline connecting the United States and China" (known as "Project Aldrin") was only thwarted when Congress stepped in. This afternoon, Congress will have a chance to question her about details revealed in her book, which a 404 Media review praised as "the book about Facebook" that's been "wanted for a decade," allegedly making it clear that Meta has lied to the public and "just doesn't care." Despite Donald Trump moving to loosen regulations on tech companies, the Senate subcommittee chair, Josh Hawley (R.-Mo.), remains critical of big tech companies like Meta allegedly wielding "monopolistic power" to control the news and "our personal data," NBC News reported. "Meta has been willing to compromise its values, sacrifice the security of its users, and undermine American interests to build its China business," Wynn-Williams will testify. "It’s been happening for years, covered up by lies, and continues to this day. I am here at considerable personal risk because you have the power and the authority to hold them accountable." Ashley Belanger Senior Policy Reporter Ashley Belanger Senior Policy Reporter Ashley is a senior policy reporter for Ars Technica, dedicated to tracking social impacts of emerging policies and new technologies. She is a Chicago-based journalist with 20 years of experience. 12 Comments