Meta has achieved an early victory in its efforts to stop a surprising tell-all memoir from a former policy executive. An arbitrator associated with the social media company has ruled that the author of the book should cease selling and promoting it, despite it already being on sale.
The controversy revolves around «Careless People,» a new book by Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former policy official at Facebook who Meta claims was terminated in 2017. Described by its publisher as an «explosive insider account,» Wynn-Williams exposes details about Mark Zuckerberg’s endeavors to introduce Facebook to China ten years ago. She also alleges inappropriate behavior by Meta’s Joel Kaplan and discloses awkward encounters between Zuckerberg and world leaders.
The book was announced just last week, prompting Meta to launch a robust public relations campaign against it, labeling it as a «new book of old news.» Several former employees have contradicted Wynn-Williams’ version of events during her time at Facebook.
Meta took urgent action by filing an emergency motion with an arbitrator to prevent the book’s release, citing Wynn-Williams’ violation of a non-disparagement agreement with the company. The arbitrator’s decision instructed her to stop making derogatory remarks about Meta and to cease any further distribution or publication of the book. The implications of this ruling on the book, which is already available for sale, remain uncertain. Flatiron Books, the publisher named in Meta’s complaint, has not yet responded to requests for comment.
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone commented on the ruling, stating, «This decision validates that Sarah Wynn Williams’ inaccurate and defamatory book should never have been published. This legal action was necessary due to Williams’ deliberate concealment of her book project for over eight years following her termination from the company, bypassing the standard fact-checking process in the industry to expedite its release.»
This article was originally published on Engadget at , unchanged and without translation.
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