Zuckerberg accused of helping China censor users

Photo : Reuters

A former high-level worker from Meta (the company that owns Facebook) has said some serious things about Mark Zuckerberg and the company. Her name is Sarah Wynn-Williams, and she spoke to U.S. lawmakers this week.

Stay informed with the latest news. Follow DXB News Network on WhatsApp Channel  

She said that Meta worked closely with the Chinese government to help hide or remove posts and voices that spoke against China. She called this a “hand in glove” deal, meaning they worked very closely together.

Sarah worked at Meta from 2011 to 2017. During that time, she said she saw Meta bosses share user data with the Chinese government. This means they may have allowed China to see what users were doing or saying on Meta’s apps.

She said, “I saw Meta leaders again and again hurt America’s safety and go against American values. They did this quietly, so they could make money in China. They wanted to build a big business there — around $18 billion.”

She also said the company was not honest. She believes Meta bosses lied to workers, shareholders, the government, and the public about what they were doing with China.

Even though Mark Zuckerberg says he supports free speech, Sarah said he did the opposite. She said he helped build special tools that let China block and hide posts from people who spoke against the Chinese government.

Sarah also shared something personal. She said that Mark Zuckerberg was learning Chinese (Mandarin) and even wanted China’s leader, Xi Jinping, to name his first baby. She said, “He was learning the language and helping with censorship. Now he’s into MMA or says he supports free speech. We don’t know what he’ll say or do next. He always seems to change.”

Meta’s spokesperson, Andy Stone, said Sarah’s story is not true. He said, “Her words are not based in truth and have many mistakes.” He also said Meta does not run its services in China right now.

He added, “Yes, we were open about wanting to work in China many years ago. It was even in the news. But today, we don’t offer Facebook or Instagram in China.”

This story has caught the attention of many people. The U.S. government is now looking more closely at how big tech companies work with foreign countries like China.