Meta Platforms has taken legal action to halt the promotion of a memoir by former Facebook employee Sarah Wynn-Williams. Her book, "Careless People," published by Flatiron Books, a Macmillan Books imprint, details her experiences at Facebook from 2011 to 2017. Wynn-Williams claims that during her tenure, she interacted with notable figures such as CEO Mark Zuckerberg, former COO Sheryl Sandberg, and current policy chief Joel Kaplan. The memoir also alleges that Kaplan made inappropriate comments to her, which she reported as sexual harassment.
Meta contends that Wynn-Williams violated a non-disparagement clause in her September 2017 severance agreement by publishing the book. Consequently, the company filed an emergency motion to prevent its promotion. An emergency arbitrator ruled in Meta's favor, prohibiting Wynn-Williams from promoting and further distributing "Careless People." The ruling also requires her to retract previous disparaging remarks about the company.
Wynn-Williams' memoir paints Meta in an unflattering light, detailing attempts by the social media giant to enter the Chinese market, including efforts to build tools that would censor content to appease the Chinese Communist Party. These claims have been addressed in a whistleblower complaint filed by Wynn-Williams with the Securities and Exchange Commission in April.
Meta has dismissed Wynn-Williams' allegations as "out-of-date" and maintains that she was terminated for "poor performance and toxic behavior." Regarding the book's publication, Andy Stone, a spokesperson for Meta, stated:
"This urgent legal action was made necessary by Williams, who more than eight years after being terminated by the company, deliberately concealed the existence of her book project and avoided the industry's standard fact-checking process in order to rush it to shelves after waiting for eight years."
Stone further commented that the arbitrator's decision "affirms that Sarah Wynn Williams' false and defamatory book should never have been published."
In contrast, Wynn-Williams has spoken out, accusing Meta of attempting to "shut this book down," as mentioned during a podcast appearance. Despite being notified, she did not attend a telephone hearing involving Meta and Macmillan Books' legal representatives.
Meta's swift legal action underscores its intent to mitigate potential reputational damage caused by Wynn-Williams' memoir. The company is keen on preventing any further dissemination of content that could harm its image or reveal internal policies and practices.