Sen. Josh Hawley. R-Mo., informed Fox Information Thursday that Meta whistleblower and former worker Sarah Wynn-Williams will testify subsequent week earlier than a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee about issues with the social media large’s inside tradition and its work abroad – the identical points that prompted her explosive tell-all to be blocked from publication earlier this yr.
In a press release to Fox Information Digital, Hawley took purpose at what he mentioned was an “amoral and corrupt company that crafted a custom censorship system for Communist China.”
He additionally criticized their makes an attempt to silence a former worker.
“Sarah Wynn-Williams alleges that Facebook is an amoral and corrupt company that crafted a custom censorship system for Communist China,” Hawley informed Fox Information Digital in a press release. “Is it a surprise to anyone that Meta secured a gag order against her? Censorship is what Big Tech does best, and since Facebook is trying to quash her story, my subcommittee is going to officially investigate it,” he added.
The memoir, “Careless People,” tried to make public what Wynn-Williams has described as Fb’s relationship and alleged cooperation with sure regimes—primarily, the Communist regime in China— and what she alleges have been Meta’s “plans to build censorship tools, punish dissidents, and make American user data available to the CCP.”
Hawley, a member of the Senate Everlasting Subcommittee on Investigations, invited Wynn-Williams to testify subsequent week after her memoir was blocked from publication.
In a press release on X, Hawley mentioned Wynn-Williams will testify earlier than the panel “in public, under oath” to element what the Missouri Republican described as among the “explosive” proof that was shared in her guide that was blocked from publication earlier this yr.
The listening to, officers with data of the proceedings informed Fox Information Digital, is an try to get to the center of the identical claims whereas respecting the restrictions reached by the arbiters.
Information of her testimony subsequent week, first shared with Fox Information Digital, comes shortly after Meta blocked Wynn-Wiliams from publishing a memoir earlier this yr detailing her six-year tenure on the firm.
Republicans on the panel introduced their investigation into Meta’s censorship work simply at some point earlier. They mentioned their work will focus totally on Meta’s dealings with China and whether or not it supplied sure AI instruments to the CCP.
Hawley and a gaggle of different panel Republicans additionally demanded Meta present them with all “records and communications pertaining to Meta’s operations within China, including the potential use of AI models developed by or in collaboration with the CCP.”
The memoir, titled “Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism,” was among the many most eagerly anticipated books of the yr, incomes early accolades and optimistic evaluations from the New York Occasions and different guide reviewers.
For a time, it was accessible for pre-sale on Amazon and different main retailers.
The memoir tried to shed new gentle on what Wynn-Williams claimed is a problematic tradition on the social media firm, each internally – the place the guide develed into allegations of non-public harassment that stretched to the corporate’s high management – in addition to its dealings with sure unsavory regimes.
In March, nonetheless, Meta secured a victory in arbitration proceedings to dam the memoir’s launch. They’ve since tried to refute the validity of Wynn Williams’s remarks, characterizing her as a “disgruntled employee.”
Legal professionals for Meta cited nondisclosure agreements signed by Wynn-Williams as a situation of her employment prohibiting her from sharing sure details about her time on the firm, together with disparaging remarks.
The information comes as Senate Republicans have pushed for extra info concerning Meta’s enterprise in China and the extent of its work.
The muzzling makes an attempt from Meta workers have finished little to thwart the GOP-led Senate Judiciary probe, nonetheless.
Citing inside paperwork obtained by the subcommittee, members mentioned this week that Fb’s plan “reportedly included more engagement with the CCP, and later included plans to partner with a Chinese company to build censorship tools and provide the CCP with user data.”
“Further, Facebook’s censorship efforts on behalf of the CCP allegedly extended to dissidents outside of China, including in the United States,” they mentioned.
Meta didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
