Grassley to Zuckerberg: Stop the Secrecy, End the War on Whistleblowers

BUTLER COUNTY, IOWA – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is demanding answers from Meta Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg on the company’s reported efforts to silence whistleblower and former employee Sarah Wynn-Williams, who alleges Meta developed concerning and potentially unlawful ties with the Chinese Communist Party and targeted teenagers for financial gain. Meta was formerly known as Facebook.

Grassley is scrutinizing Meta’s severance agreement with Wynn-Williams, which may violate the Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) regulations by restricting her ability to claim monetary rewards for reporting illegal conduct.

“For over a decade, I’ve sounded the alarm about restrictive severance agreements and nondisclosure agreements (NDA) that hinder congressional oversight and improperly silence whistleblowers from making disclosures to Congress and regulatory bodies … It appears that attempts to silence whistleblowers are not just prevalent in the AI sector, but in the tech industry more broadly,” Grassley wrote.

“The SEC whistleblower program was established by Congress to incentivize whistleblowers to report federal securities laws violations. The program is an important tool to expose fraud, waste, and abuse in our government and publicly traded companies,” Grassley continued.

Grassley emphasized Meta must ensure its employees can make protected disclosures to federal authorities or Congress without illegal restrictions and bullying. According to Wynn-Williams, Meta has sought to silence her by seeking to collect $50,000 for every disparaging statement made against the company.

“The tactics used by Meta are clearly aimed at silencing Ms. Wynn-Williams, a brave whistleblower who courageously testified in the face of Meta’s threats at the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism,” Grassley concluded.

Text of Grassley’s letter to Zuckerberg follows:

April 14, 2025

VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION

Mr. Mark Zuckerberg 

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Meta Platforms, Inc. 

Dear Mr. Zuckerberg:

For over a decade, I’ve sounded the alarm about restrictive severance agreements and nondisclosure agreements (NDA) that hinder congressional oversight and improperly silence whistleblowers from making disclosures to Congress and regulatory bodies.   On August 1, 2024, given my deep concern on this issue, I wrote to OpenAI regarding its use of restrictive employment, severance, non-disparagement, and nondisclosure agreements.   It appears that attempts to silence whistleblowers are not just prevalent in the AI sector, but in the tech industry more broadly.  

Recently, Ms. Sarah Wynn-Williams approached my office with whistleblower allegations against Meta.  Her allegations raised concerns about Meta’s severance agreement, as well as the company’s ties with China, violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, practices targeting vulnerable teenagers, sexual harassment, and misrepresentations made to Congress and the company’s shareholders.   Ms. Wynn-Williams has specifically alleged that her severance agreement violated SEC regulation 17 C.F.R. § 240 21F-17 by restricting her from claiming any monetary reward for reporting illegal conduct to the SEC.   The SEC whistleblower program was established by Congress to incentivize whistleblowers to report federal securities laws violations.   The program is an important tool to expose fraud, waste, and abuse in our government and publicly traded companies.  

According to Ms. Wynn-Williams’ disclosures, Meta has sought to silence her by seeking to collect $50,000 per disparaging statement against the company.   The tactics used by Meta are clearly aimed at silencing Ms. Wynn-Williams, a brave whistleblower who courageously testified in the face of Meta’s threats at the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism on April 9, 2025.  

It’s crucial that Meta ensures its employees can provide protected disclosures without illegal restrictions and bullying.  So that Congress may conduct objective and independent oversight of Meta’s efforts to silence whistleblowers, as well as the allegations raised by Ms. Wynn-Williams, please provide answers to the following no later than April 28, 2025: 

1. Regarding Meta’s severance, non-disparagement, and other employment agreements, has Meta made changes to the language of the agreements to remove restrictive provisions?  If so, provide a copy of the updated version(s) along with the dates the changes were made.

2. From 2015 to the date of this letter, how many requests did Meta or its subsidiaries receive from employees to disclose information to federal authorities or Congress?  For each request, provide all records, including the relevant federal authorities, the nature of the information to be disclosed, and whether Meta or its subsidiaries permitted the disclosure. 

3. From 2015 to the date of this letter, how many SEC investigations has Meta or its subsidiaries been subject to?  For each SEC investigation, provide the basis and outcome.   

Thank you for your prompt review and response.  If you have any questions, please contact Tucker Akin with my Committee staff at (202) 224-5225.

Sincerely, 

Charles E. Grassley 

Chairman 

Committee on the Judiciary

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