WASHINGTON (TNND) — While the U.S. and China are engaging in a trade war, a top Senate committee is now investigating alleged ties between social media giants and the Chinese. A former Meta executive and whistleblower testified that Facebook collaborated with the Chinese government.

Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) opened Wednesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with a bold statement.

“This is a hearing Facebook has tried desperately to prevent,” Hawley said.

Before the committee testifying was Sarah Wynn-Williams. Facebook’s former Head of Global Public Policy, who also wrote a scathing book about Meta. She told Senators, Meta worked directly with the Chinese Communist Party to undermine U.S. national security and betray American values.

I witnessed Meta work hand in glove with the Chinese Communist Party to construct and test custom built censorship tools,” said Wynn-Williams.

Wynn-Williams also alleged that Meta’s artificial intelligence model, known as Llama, was used to help develop China’s DeepSeek.

“Meta’s AI model, Llama, has contributed significantly to Chinese advancements in AI technologies,” Wynn-Williams said.

Shortly after her opening statement, Hawley circled back, asking Wynn-Williams directly if Meta collaborated with the Chinese Government.

“Is it your testimony that Facebook executives and employees cultivated relationships with the Chinese Communist Party?” Hawley asked. Wynn-Williams responded, “Absolutely, Senator.

Rob Lalka, a business expert at Tulane University who read Wynn-Williams’ book, believes, testifying on Wednesday took a lot of courage and was quite eye-opening.

“This is someone who is speaking out against some very powerful people with some very strong claims,” Lalka said.

Lalka adds that the people who worry about ethics, specifically when it comes to AI, look at what’s being accused with concern.

“They say if anyone can use this very powerful company’s source code, then that code could be used for nefarious means,” said Lalka.

In response, a Meta spokesperson called the testimony “divorced from reality and riddled with false claims.”