‘Careless People’ author testifies to Senate, as bipartisan pressure builds on Mark Zuckerberg

Wynn-Williams testified that Meta censored a Chinese dissident at the request of Chinese officials, and that the dissident was Guo Wengui, a federally convicted fraudster and MAGA-friendly ally of far-right activist Steve Bannon. Wynn-Williams said Facebook’s claim that a 2017 suspension of Guo’s account stemmed from a temporary glitch was a lie, and that the decision to temporarily kick him off the platform actually came as a result of pressure from a Chinese official.

Stone, the Meta spokesperson, said in a statement that Guo “faced account restrictions because he shared personally identifiable information such as passport numbers, social security numbers and addresses,” The Washington Post reported.

After downloading the book and searching for mentions of Palestine, the sole reference I found involved the author criticizing Facebook Maps for labeling a location in Israel as Palestine (p.71)—a claim I find dubious, given the platform’s well-documented history of censoring Palestinian content. Most Palestinian activists are likely aware of this pattern, as evidenced by countless reports and articles easily accessible through a simple Google search for “Facebook censorship of Palestine.”

Related:

Who is Guo Wengui?

Facebook censorship of Palestinian Baby Jesus

World Economic Forum:

Sarah Wynn Williams is a Director of Public Policy at Facebook. She works on global public policy with a focus on LATAM, Canada, and the APAC [Asia–Pacific] regions.

Sarah is an experienced diplomat, policy expert, and international lawyer. She managed the political affairs and government relations office at the New Zealand embassy in Washington, DC from 2007-2011. From 2002-2007, she served as a policy adviser in the New Zealand government on environment, sustainability and security issues and worked on the ratification of complex international treaties. During this time, Sarah was asked to serve as the Chief Negotiator for the United Nations on biosafety liability. She also worked on international security, international law, and human rights at the United Nations General Assembly. In addition she was an adjunct law lecturer at Victoria University. Prior to that, she practiced law at Mallesons, Stephen, Jacques law firm in Sydney, Australia and was seconded to Niue’s Attorney General’s Office to work on counterterrorism measures and human rights issues in Niue. 

Most recently, Sarah was Head of Relations with the World Bank and IMF for Oxfam International. Sarah earned a BA in political science, international relations and diplomacy from University of Canterbury and a Master of Laws from Victoria University.

The IMF, World Bank, and the Dollar Empire: A Critical Perspective from Michael Hudson

The subtle art of soft power

In Britain, patrician outposts of the state such as the BBC World Service and British Council – both founded in the 1930s, the latter explicitly to “promote British culture and fight the rise of fascism” – continue their attempts to further its values abroad, as do non-governmental organisations like Oxfam and Save the Children. The country’s mass-cultural appeal is also effective in the soft-power stakes – in 2016 one-sixth of albums sold worldwide derived from the UK music industry, while the English Premier League was watched in 643 million homes in the 2018-19 season, with only five countries failing to screen the Manchester derby.

In Britain, patrician outposts of the state such as the BBC World Service and British Council – both founded in the 1930s, the latter explicitly to “promote British culture and fight the rise of fascism” – continue their attempts to further its values abroad, as do non-governmental organisations like Oxfam and Save the Children. The country’s mass-cultural appeal is also effective in the soft-power stakes – in 2016 one-sixth of albums sold worldwide derived from the UK music industry, while the English Premier League was watched in 643 million homes in the 2018-19 season, with only five countries failing to screen the Manchester derby.