US Lawmakers Vow to Investigate Meta's China Links After Explosive Testimony

American Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle turned up the heat on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday, vowing to continue investigating the tech giant’s efforts to engage with China and how that may have risked Americans’ personal data.

The sharp criticism came during a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on crime and terrorism, where senators questioned Meta’s past moves to launch its platforms Facebook and Instagram in China. The hearing featured testimony from Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former Meta executive and author of a new memoir, Careless People, which has become a bestseller despite pushback from the company.

Zuckerberg in the spotlight

While Meta ultimately never launched its social media apps in China, senators said they were alarmed by the company’s actions over several years and how far it was willing to go to enter the Chinese market.

Sen. Josh Hawley, who chairs the subcommittee, said Zuckerberg would likely be called to testify in the future. “This will not be the end. This is just the beginning,” Hawley said.

Explosive claims from a former insider

Wynn-Williams, who worked closely with Zuckerberg, told lawmakers that Meta built censorship tools for potential use in China and had internal discussions about data-sharing deals with the Chinese government — including over users based in Hong Kong.

“The greatest trick Mark Zuckerberg ever pulled was wrapping the American flag around himself and calling himself a patriot and saying he didn’t offer services in China, while he spent the last decade building an $18 billion business there,” she said, pointing to Meta’s advertising revenue from China-based businesses.

Book lifts the lid on Meta’s China strategy

Her book details a years-long push by Zuckerberg, starting in 2014, to enter the Chinese market. That effort ended in 2019, but during that time, Meta was exploring ways to navigate Chinese censorship rules and reportedly considered giving Beijing access to sensitive user data.

Though these efforts never led to a full launch, senators said the revelations showed that Meta was willing to put business interests above user privacy and national security.

Bipartisan frustration builds

Wednesday’s hearing revealed rare bipartisan consensus on the need to hold big tech companies accountable — particularly when it comes to foreign influence and data privacy. While Meta has faced relatively less scrutiny in recent months compared to other tech leaders like Elon Musk, the hearing suggested that may soon change.

Lawmakers emphasized that they are just getting started. Zuckerberg may soon have to answer questions publicly about what Meta was really doing behind the scenes — and why.