Former Meta Global Public Policy Director Sarah Winn-Williams intends to testify before Congress regarding the company’s potential collaboration with China, particularly in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) for military purposes. She claims that Meta provided covert assistance to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), while misleading U.S. lawmakers and the public.
This is reported by Finway
Allegations of Misinformation
According to Winn-Williams, during briefings held as early as 2015, Meta misled Chinese officials, which is directly related to recent reports about the use of the AI model LLaMA, developed by the company, for military purposes.
“There is a clear connection between these briefings and recent reports that China is using Meta’s LLaMA model to develop military AI models,” noted Winn-Williams.
In January 2025, the Chinese startup DeepSeek announced a competitor model to OpenAI, which caused a $600 billion drop in the technology market and triggered an arms race in the AI sector. Winn-Williams emphasized that Meta presented its entry into the Chinese market as a way to increase China’s influence on the global stage, as confirmed by internal documents.
Allegations of Censorship
She also accused Meta of developing tools for censorship in favor of the CCP and of possible negotiations to transfer user data to Chinese authorities.
“I witnessed company executives deciding to grant the Chinese Communist Party access to Meta user data, including that of Americans,” stated Winn-Williams.
Senate Subcommittee Chair Josh Hawley highlighted the importance of Winn-Williams’ testimony in clarifying Meta’s leadership activities regarding their ties to China. Meta representative Andy Stone responded to the allegations, calling them “disconnected from reality and filled with false claims,” assuring that the company no longer operates in China.
These allegations arise amid rising tensions between the U.S. and China in the technology and trade sectors, particularly in the context of tariff policies implemented by U.S. President Donald Trump.