A former Facebook employee is set to testify before Congress that Meta executives compromised U.S. national security and shared sensitive technology information with Chinese officials, according to her prepared remarks obtained by NBC News.
Sarah Wynn-Williams, who worked at Facebook from 2011 to 2017, will tell the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism that Meta executives secretly pursued business interests in China while misleading employees, shareholders, and the American public about their activities.
In her testimony, Wynn-Williams will detail "Project Aldrin," Facebook's confidential initiative to enter the Chinese market. She claims Meta executives briefed Chinese officials on emerging technologies like artificial intelligence as early as 2015, potentially helping China compete against American companies.
The former employee will also testify about Meta's alleged development of custom censorship tools for the Chinese Communist Party and the construction of a "physical pipeline" - an undersea internet cable connecting Hong Kong and Los Angeles. While the Hong Kong portion was later abandoned in 2020, Wynn-Williams suggests the infrastructure could have provided China backdoor access to American citizens' data.
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone strongly rejected these allegations, stating that Wynn-Williams' testimony is "divorced from reality and riddled with false claims." The company maintains that while it previously explored opportunities in China, it does not currently operate its services there.
The hearing comes as Meta faces increased scrutiny in Washington, including an upcoming antitrust trial with the Federal Trade Commission. Wynn-Williams recently published a memoir detailing her experiences at Facebook, though Meta won an interim arbitration decision finding she violated a non-disparagement clause in her severance agreement.
The former employee's testimony suggests that despite Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's public stance as a free speech advocate, the company worked closely with Chinese authorities while pursuing an $18 billion advertising business in the region.
The Senate hearing, chaired by Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), will examine these claims amid broader concerns about Big Tech's influence and relationship with foreign governments.