Ex-Meta employee sues company over bid to silence her
What's the story
Former Meta employee Sarah Wynn-Williams is suing the tech giant for its attempts to "silence" her. The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. It claims that Meta's interim arbitration ruling preventing her from publicizing her memoir Careless People was "improper and unlawful" and a "blatant violation of the First Amendment." Wynn-Williams served as Facebook's director of global public policy from 2011 to 2018.
Book details
Memoir alleges sexual harassment, gender discrimination at Meta
Wynn-Williams's memoir, published in March 2025, details her experiences at Facebook. The book alleges a toxic internal culture rife with sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination. Meta has dismissed the claims as a "mix of out-of-date and previously reported claims about the company and false accusations about our executives."
Legal battle
Meta sought emergency order to prevent 'Careless People' promotion
Following the book's release, Meta sought an emergency order to prevent Wynn-Williams from promoting it. The company argued that she had signed a severance agreement with arbitration and non-disparagement clauses. However, Wynn-Williams's complaint argues that this agreement is unenforceable as it was signed under financial duress. When she was fired from Facebook in August 2017, the company "knew" her termination would take away "critical employment benefits," which were "cornerstones of her financial stability."
Surveillance claims
Tech giant allegedly surveilling her public appearances
The complaint also alleges that Meta has been surveilling Wynn-Williams's public appearances. According to the document, representatives from the company have attended these events, collected photographs, and written records of her movements. The tech giant has even asked an arbitrator to compel her to disclose a list of her planned public appearances.
Sales boost
Book sales skyrocketed after her appearance at Hay Literary Festival
Wynn-Williams's public appearance at the Hay Literary Festival in Wales in May led to a massive spike in her book sales. The memoir saw a 304.5% week-on-week increase after the event. Since its release, over 150,000 copies of Careless People have been sold across all formats in the UK, according to Pan Macmillan.
Company statement
Response from Meta and Wynn-Williams's UK editor
In response to the lawsuit, Meta said, "This former employee is trying to use the legal process to sell books, which an arbitrator already ruled broke the agreement she signed with the company when she accepted a large financial settlement years ago." Mike Harpley, nonfiction publisher at Macmillan and Wynn-Williams's UK editor, criticized Meta for its actions. He said they have enforced their legal order against her with a "chilling campaign of surveillance."