An oversight hearing to examine Meta's foreign relations and representations to the United States Congress.

Senate Subcommittee on Criminal Justice and Counterterrorism

2025-04-09

Source: Congress.gov

Summary

This hearing of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism focused on alleged misconduct by Meta (formerly Facebook) concerning its operations in China and its treatment of a former executive whistleblower[ 00:21:23-00:21:28 ] . Senators expressed serious concerns about Meta's business practices, its engagement with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and its impact on user safety and national security[ 00:24:15-00:24:21 ]

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Themes

Meta's Covert Operations and Collaboration with the CCP

Meta is accused of covertly operating in China, generating billions in revenue, despite publicly denying its presence there[ 00:48:30-00:48:39 ]

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[ 00:49:26 ]

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. The company allegedly collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party to develop and test custom-built censorship tools, silencing critics and deleting accounts like that of Chinese dissident Guo Wengi, who resided in the U.S[ 00:23:44-00:24:01 ]

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. Furthermore, Meta executives reportedly agreed to provide the CCP with access to user data, including that of Americans, by contemplating data storage facilities in China and using "pop servers" that could not segregate data[ 00:56:50-00:57:16 ]

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. Meta also allegedly briefed CCP officials on advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, with the explicit goal of helping China "out-compete American companies". These briefings and the open-source nature of Meta's AI model, LAMA, are believed to have contributed to Chinese advancements in AI, such as DeepSeek, raising national security concerns.

Meta's Suppression of Whistleblowers and Deception

Facebook has engaged in aggressive tactics to prevent its former executive and whistleblower, Sarah Wynn-Williams, from testifying and publishing her book[ 00:22:11-00:22:39 ]

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. These tactics include suing her, seeking a gag order, attempting to remove her book from shelves, and threatening her with $50,000 in punitive damages each time she mentions Facebook publicly[ 00:22:11-00:22:39 ]

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. Senators criticized these actions as hypocritical, given Mark Zuckerberg's public claims as a "free speech champion"[ 00:23:44 ]

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. The gag order, obtained without Wynn-Williams' knowledge, is so expansive that it prohibited her from speaking with members of Congress. Additionally, Meta executives, including Mark Zuckerberg and its general counsel, are accused of repeatedly lying under oath to Congress regarding their China operations, user data security, and the development of censorship tools[ 00:24:05-00:24:09 ]

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Meta's Impact on Youth and Society

Meta is accused of prioritizing profits over people and safety, particularly concerning young users. The company allegedly targeted vulnerable teenagers by feeding them inflammatory content and collecting data on their emotional states, such as feelings of worthlessness or helplessness, to serve them targeted advertisements. This practice, akin to "kicking a kid when they're down," was seen as completely disgusting by senators. The discussion highlighted the moral bankruptcy of targeting individuals in distress for profit. Meta's aggressive lobbying against legislation aimed at protecting children, like the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), further underscores its prioritization of financial gain over safety[ 01:24:10-01:24:27 ]

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Tone of the Meeting

The tone of the meeting was largely accusatory, urgent, and frustrated, particularly towards Meta and Mark Zuckerberg[ 00:21:28-00:21:45 ] . Senators expressed strong indignation at Meta's alleged deception, its collaboration with the CCP, and its harmful impact on youth, drawing parallels to the "big tobacco" industry[ 02:01:28-02:01:42 ]

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. There was a palpable sense of determination to hold Meta accountable and to pass legislation to regulate big tech. The whistleblower, Sarah Wynn-Williams, maintained a resolute and factual demeanor, despite acknowledging the personal risks and aggressive threats she faced.

Participants

Transcript

Beeping
The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism is called to order.  I want to welcome everybody to today's hearing, the title of which is A Time for Truth, Oversight of Meta's Foreign Relations and Representations to the United States Congress.  Let me just say as we begin, this is a hearing that Facebook has tried desperately to prevent.  Facebook is one of the most powerful companies in the world.   It is one of the most powerful companies in the history of the world, and they have stopped at absolutely nothing to prevent today's testimony.   They've absolutely gone to war to try to prevent it.  Our witness today is a whistleblower, and not just a whistleblower, but a longtime executive at Facebook.  She worked directly with Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sanders and the Facebook brass.  She was a part of the Facebook brass, and they have gone scorched earth to prevent her from telling what she knows.  They've sued her.   They have sought a gag order against her.  They have begged courts to take her book off of the shelves.  They tried to get it stopped from being printed in the first place.  They have threatened her, get this, with $50,000 in punitive damages every time she mentions Facebook in public.   $50,000 every time she mentions Facebook in public, even if the statements that she is making are true.  And even as we sit here today, Facebook is attempting her total and complete financial ruin.  They are attempting to destroy her personally.  They are attempting to destroy her reputation.  And I think the question is why?   Why is it that Facebook is so desperate to prevent this witness from telling what she knows?  What is it that they are so afraid of?  Well, we're going to find out today.   And I think that we've already got a sense of it.
Sarah Wynne Williams knows the truth about Facebook.  That's what they fear.  She knows that while Mark Zuckerberg now claims to be a champion of the United States and claims to be a free speech warrior, he in fact worked hand in glove with the Chinese Communist Party for years.   He, in fact, made censorship his business model.  He, in fact, developed censorship tools for the Chinese Communist Party to use against its own people.  He, in fact, made Americans' own user data available, was willing to make it available to Beijing.  The truth is Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg have lied to the American people repeatedly.  And I think as we'll see today, they have lied to Congress as well.   It's time for this to stop.  That's why this committee has launched a full-scale investigation into the potential illegal behavior of Facebook.  Today's hearing is one step in that investigation.  Ms.  Wynne-Williams' testimony is absolutely essential to that investigation.  That's why we invited her to be here today, and it is why she accepted.  Facebook does not want you to hear what she has to say.  I dare say China probably doesn't want you to hear what she has to say.   but we are going to get the truth, and we're going to get the truth starting now.  I'm delighted to have with me the ranking member, both for the subcommittee and for the full Judiciary Committee, Senator Durbin, and I'll turn it over to him.
Thanks, Chairman Hawley, for holding this hearing.  Thank you, Ms.  Wynn-Williams, for agreeing to testify, particularly under these circumstances.  You join other whistleblowers, including Frances Hougen and Arturo Behar, who have bravely come before Congress to detail how Meta, a.k.a.  Facebook,   one of the biggest companies in the world, consistently chooses profits and growth over people and safety.  Meta chooses to target vulnerable teenagers to drive engagement and increase ad spending, knowing the risk it poses to teen mental health.  Meta chooses to feed its users inflammatory content to drive engagement and increase ad spending, knowing the harm it can cause.

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