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In a development raising serious concerns about data privacy and national security, new testimony presented to the U.S. Senate alleges that Meta, parent company of Facebook, once considered providing the Chinese government access to user data — including that of American citizens — in exchange for market access.
The claims come from former executive Sarah Wynn-Williams, who testified this week under oath, stating that Meta had developed custom censorship tools tailored to the needs of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). She also alleged that internal agreements included data-sharing arrangements that potentially exposed personal information of millions of users.
Although Meta has long been restricted from operating its core platforms in China, the company’s financial ties to the country remain strong. According to its own filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Meta generated $18.35 billion in revenue from China in 2024 alone — a figure that has grown significantly from previous years, despite Meta’s services not being available there.
Wynn-Williams, who spent nearly seven years in a senior policy role at Facebook, stated that Meta began offering products and services in China as early as 2014 and has never truly stopped. She described a company willing to compromise core values and user security in pursuit of access to the Chinese market.
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