Alleging that Facebook worked “hand in glove” with the Chinese government on possible ways to restrict and regulate information, a former top official at the social media behemoth has made explosive claims about earlier attempts by the business to penetrate the Chinese market. The Facebook China Controversy begs major questions about corporate ethics and data privacy.
Former Facebook global public policy director Sarah Wynn-Williams says that Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, thought about putting in place a mechanism that would conceal popular messages until they could be examined by Chinese authorities in return for access to the huge Chinese user base.
She has also complained anonymously to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), claiming corporate dishonesty toward investors. The accusation implies that the leadership of Facebook misled people over its interaction with China.
Denying these claims, Meta, Facebook’s parent company, said that Wynn-Williams was fired in 2017 for “poor performance” and “toxic behavior.” The corporation insists that although it had looked at prospects in China, it finally did not move with any ideas.
Was the "White Whale" China Facebook created?
China is Mark Zuckerberg’s “white whale,” Wynn-Williams says—a target he pursued relentlessly. To strive to be present in China, she claims Facebook was ready to let Chinese authorities future access to user data.
“He was developing a censorship tool working hand in glove with the Chinese Communist Party. Striving to create sort of the antithesis of many of the ideas guiding Facebook,” she said.
The Facebook China Controversy has attracted attention since allegations that Facebook went to considerable measures to please Chinese officials. Unlike other governments, which were typically denied thorough explanations of Facebook’s algorithms, Chinese engineers were granted great access to the company’s inner operations.
“Engineers were called upon. Facebook was ensuring these Chinese officials were upskilled enough to not just learn about these goods but also test Facebook on the censoring version of these products they were developing. They were walked through every part.”
Meta responds that the company never operated in China and that these assertions were “widely reported” at the time.
Was Facebook misleading Congress?
Wynn-Williams also claims that when Congress questioned Zuckerberg and other senior officials about the company’s interactions with China, they offered “misleading comments.”
In a 2018 hearing, Zuckerberg said Facebook “not in a position to know exactly how the [Chinese] government would seek to apply its laws and regulations on content.” But Wynn-Williams argues that given Facebook’s degree of interaction with Chinese officials, this was false.
Emphasizing that Meta never started services in China, Meta has claimed that Zuckerberg’s testimony was truthful.
Did Facebook take advantage of teenage vulnerability?
Apart from concerns about China, Wynn-Williams also believes Facebook deliberately used young people who were susceptible for commercial advantage. She claims that the corporation employed algorithms to find when young users—especially teenage girls—were either “worthless or unhappy,”—a finding that was subsequently used to target them with beauty industry advertising.
“The algorithm could infer that they were feeling either unhappy or worthless,” she says. “The company could spot when a teenage girl deleted a selfie on its platforms, then tell a beauty company it would be a good target for an advertisement.”
She talks of feeling “sick” when she realized this was happening but claims her attempts to resist were useless. “The business side thought this was exactly what we should be doing,” she notes. “They said, ‘We have this fantastic product; we can get young people, which is a really important advertising segment.'”
Meta has angrily rejected this, claiming never to have exploited emotional states for ad targeting. According to the corporation, all the study done was meant to assist advertisers in better grasping Facebook users’ expression of themselves.
Did Facebook Executives let their kids use the network?
Most Facebook executives did not let their children use their platform, even if it was marketed as a safe place. Many have screen restrictions in place for their children, claims Wynn-Williams.
“They clearly wouldn’t let them use the product,” she says.
The Facebook China Controversy has underlined more issues regarding the influence of social media on young people. Wynn-Williams contends that Facebook has put profits first rather than acting to safeguard children. “This company ranks among the most valuable ones worldwide. She says they should invest in this and give it top attention and act more to correct it.”
Meta has replied by saying that it is open about its advertising policies and has taken major efforts to provide teenagers safer experiences with the launch of “Teen Accounts” with built-in safeguards.
Was Wynn-Williams let go for speaking out?
Meta has refuted Wynn-Williams’ assertions by claiming she made “misleading and unfounded allegations of harassment,” citing her termination for “poor performance” and “toxic behavior.”
She does, however, insist that she was let go after disclosing inappropriate remarks made by Joel Kaplan, Meta’s chief worldwide relations officer.
Meta has also questioned Wynn-Williams’s whistleblower credentials and further accused her of being bribed by “anti-Facebook activists”. The corporation argued, “whistleblower status protects communications to the government, not disgruntled activists trying to sell books.”
A legal counsel for Wynn-Williams said, “Meta has made several inaccurate and conflicting allegations against Sarah since the news of her memoir came… Although Meta’s comments aim to deceive the public, the book speaks for itself.”
Why is she speaking now?
Wynn-Williams claims she decided to speak up because of Meta’s ongoing great effect over world civilization. She cautions: “We’re in this moment when tech and political leaders are coming together, and as they mix forces, that has a lot of consequences for all of us.”
The Facebook China Controversy highlights issues with the worldwide operations of big technological businesses. “I believe it’s quite crucial to realize that and to understand you look at all these engineers influencing the highest degree of government.”
Meta has meantime started legal action in the United States to “halt the further distribution of defamatory and untrue information” included in her book.
Wynn-Williams is still firm that public awareness depends on her disclosures. “We have to make sure we get the future we are due,” she continues.
