Sarah Wynn-Williams, the former director of global public policy at Meta, appeared before the US Congress on Wednesday, accusing her former employer of reckless behaviour related to the company's desire to operate in China, possibly compromising American user data.
"Throughout my seven years at Meta I saw executives repeatedly undermine US national security and betray American values," she said during her opening testimony to the Senate judiciary committee. "They did these things in secret to win favour with Beijing and build an $18 billion business in China."
Ms Wynn-Williams accused Meta executives of engaging in illegal and dangerous activities to try to gain a foothold in China, which has been reticent about giving the social media platform a presence in the country.
She said that Meta allowed Chinese government officials to have a say in deleting expatriates' Facebook accounts over criticism of China, and offered officials certain tools that could be used to censor critics.
"I watched as executives decided to provide the Chinese Communist Party with access to Meta user data, including that of Americans," Ms Wynn-Williams said.
She said that because of Meta's closeness to Chinese government officials, the company's artificial intelligence model, Llama, was helping to improve China-based AI offerings such as DeepSeek.
During the hearing, Ms Wynn-Williams, who recently wrote a book about her time at the social media company, earned praise from the senators on the committee.
"This is a hearing that Facebook has tried desperately to prevent. Why is Facebook so desperate to prevent Sarah Wynn-Williams from disclosing what she knows?" asked Republican Josh Hawley during opening statements.
"Mark Zuckerberg worked hand in glove with China for years. He developed censorship tools for the Chinese company to be used against its own people."
Democrat Richard Blumenthal agreed.
"Mark Zuckerberg undermined US national security ... he tried to sell out America, he risked our national security and the individual security of everyday Americans, and they ought to be outraged," he said.
Ms Wynn-Williams's book, Careless people: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed and Lost Idealism, has been the subject of ample scrutiny.
The publisher, Macmillan, describes the book as a "searing memoir" that "exposes both the personal and the political fallout when unfettered power and a rotten company culture take hold".
The book makes reference to reported quirks and idiosyncrasies of those in positions of power at Meta, with claims that colleagues let founder Mark Zuckerberg win at board games, and accusations of an apparent lack of humanity for employees who suffered medical problems at work.
Ms Wynn-Williams was relieved of her duties at Meta in 2017.
Meta has gone to great lengths to try to hit back against the accusations made in the book, even trying to use the courts to prevent it from being sold.
“This is all pushed by an employee terminated eight years ago for poor performance," the company's spokesman, Andy Stone, posted to Meta's Threads platform. "We do not operate our services in China today.
"It is no secret we were once interested in doing so as part of Facebook’s effort to connect the world. This was widely reported beginning a decade ago. We ultimately opted not to go through with the ideas we'd explored, which Mark Zuckerberg announced in 2019."
The company also issued a point-by-point document titled Careless reprint: Sarah Wynn-Williams' new book of old news, in which Meta tried to debunk allegations in the book.
Yet Meta's efforts to debunk the book and blunt its impact seem to have had the opposite effect, as it reached the top of most best-seller lists in the US.
The congressional hearing comes at an inconvenient time for Meta, as it prepares for a lengthy court battle against the Federal Trade Commission, which has accused it of illegally stifling competition.
If Meta loses in court, it may be forced to spin off Instagram, WhatsApp and other social media and communication platforms it owns.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
'Ghostbusters: From Beyond'
Director: Jason Reitman
Starring: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace
Rating: 2/5
Tamkeen's offering
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The 100 Best Novels in Translation
Boyd Tonkin, Galileo Press
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Read more about the coronavirus
2020 Oscars winners: in numbers
- Parasite – 4
- 1917– 3
- Ford v Ferrari – 2
- Joker – 2
- Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood – 2
- American Factory – 1
- Bombshell – 1
- Hair Love – 1
- Jojo Rabbit – 1
- Judy – 1
- Little Women – 1
- Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl) – 1
- Marriage Story – 1
- Rocketman – 1
- The Neighbors' Window – 1
- Toy Story 4 – 1
The language of diplomacy in 1853
Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)
We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.
Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
