By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) continues his fierce work advocating for whistleblowers with his recent outreach to Meta Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg demanding answers to Meta’s treatment of the latest whistleblower to speak out against the social media behemoth. In a letter he wrote on April 14, Grassley asked Zuckerberg to detail Meta’s reported efforts to silence former Meta employee Sarah Wynn-Williams, who has alleged Meta established questionable connections with China and used unsavory practices, including targeting teenagers, to boost financials.

The SEC Whistleblower Program

In particular, Grassley focused on how Meta’s severance agreement with Wynn-Williams might interfere with her ability to report her concerns to the Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) under the SEC Whistleblower Program. The SEC program rewards successful whistleblowers with up to 30% of any government recovery that flows from information the whistleblower provides. The program has been hugely successful since it was launched in 2012 under the Dodd-Frank Act and has led to billions of dollars in SEC recoveries and more than a billion dollars in whistleblower awards.

The SEC’s most recent Annual Whistleblower Report shows the continued strength of the program. However, Grassley is concerned that Meta is taking steps to impede the ability of whistleblowers to freely report suspected fraud and misconduct to the SEC under the program. That concern comes from Wyn-Williams’s claim that when she left the company, Meta made her sign a severance agreement that would make her forgo any award under the SEC Whistleblower Program even if she reported fraud or misconduct that ultimately leads to a government recovery.

Companies Cannot Impede SEC Whistleblowers

The SEC has taken a strong stand against these kinds of restrictive agreements that get in the way of whistleblowers reporting to the agency. SEC Rule 21F-17(a) broadly prohibits companies from taking any action to impede or discourage whistleblowers from reporting suspected securities violations to the SEC. In the last few years, the SEC has brought numerous actions to enforce this rule, striking down a broad array of agreements the agency believed discouraged whistleblowers.

Senator Grassley is concerned Meta may be violating this rule with its treatment of Wynn-Williams by restricting her ability to claim monetary rewards for reporting illegal conduct and by purportedly threatening her with a $50,000 penalty for every disparaging comment she makes about the company.  As Grassley wrote, “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.”

In his letter to Zuckerberg, Grassley noted he has been fighting against these kinds of restrictive severance agreements and nondisclosure agreements for more than a decade and called out OpenAI last year on this subject. According to Grassley, “It appears that attempts to silence whistleblowers are not just prevalent in the AI sector, but in the tech industry more broadly.” Grassley concluded his letter warning Zuckerberg “it’s crucial that Meta ensures its employees can provide protected disclosures without illegal restrictions and bullying.”

Constantine Cannon whistleblower partner Gordon Schnell praised Grassley’s stand against efforts to silence whistleblowers, stressing how important it is to maintain safe and easy channels for whistleblowers to report wrongdoing to the government: “The SEC has repeatedly demonstrated its strong commitment to ensuring safe passage for whistleblowers to report fraud to the government. It is gratifying to see Senator Grassley join in this commitment and take on Meta for allegedly trying to make it more difficult for whistleblowers like Wynn-Williams to move forward.”

We are closely following the case and will report any updates, such as how Meta responds to Grassley’s demands, what if any steps the SEC will take to follow up on Wynn-Williams’ allegations, and whether the Trump Administration will weigh into this growing controversy.

Our Firm Helps Whistleblowers

Constantine Cannon has extensive experience representing SEC whistleblowers, including defending whistleblowers subject to restrictive agreements that violate SEC Rule 21F-17. Please contact us if you would like more information or believe you have information relating to potential securities violations. We will connect you with an experienced member of the Constantine Cannon whistleblower team for a free and confidential consultation.

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Read Senator Grassley Wants Zuckerberg to “End the War on Whistleblowers” at constantinecannon.com