Meta has won a temporary legal ruling against former employee Sarah Wynn-Williams, restricting her from promoting or distributing her newly released memoir, Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism.
The book, which details allegations of sexual harassment and other misconduct at the company, is now at the center of an ongoing arbitration dispute.
On Thursday, March 13, an emergency arbitrator ruled in Meta’s favor, prohibiting Wynn-Williams from further promoting, distributing, or making disparaging comments about the company while arbitration is ongoing. The arbitrator also ordered Wynn-Williams to retract any previous disparaging remarks about Meta and its executives, to the extent that she is able.
Meta argues that the book violates a non-disparagement agreement Wynn-Williams signed in 2017, when she left her position as a global affairs employee at Facebook, now known as Meta. The ruling, however, does not prevent Flatiron Books, an imprint of Macmillan, from continuing publication and sales of the memoir.
In her book, Wynn-Williams alleges instances of sexual harassment by senior Meta executives, including policy chief Joel Kaplan. She also claims that Meta pursued content censorship tools in an effort to enter the Chinese market. Meta has denied these accusations, calling them false, outdated, and exaggerated.
“This is a mix of out-of-date and previously reported claims about the company and false accusations about our executives,” said Meta spokesperson Andy Stone.
The company has also stated that Wynn-Williams was fired for poor performance and that an internal investigation at the time found her harassment allegations unfounded.
The case raises questions about free speech and corporate non-disparagement agreements. In 2023, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that companies cannot prevent former employees from discussing workplace misconduct, including sexual harassment allegations.
Meta itself has publicly stated in shareholder reports that it does not require employees to stay silent about harassment or discrimination. However, the company still pursues arbitration in certain cases, and Wynn-Williams’ situation is now part of private legal proceedings.
While the book remains available for sale, Wynn-Williams cannot promote it until arbitration concludes. Meta’s legal actions signal a firm stance against public criticism from former employees, particularly in the form of published works.
Neither Wynn-Williams, Flatiron Books, nor Macmillan has publicly commented on the ruling. Meanwhile, Meta executives continue to challenge the claims in Careless People, with some taking to social media to dispute its contents.
CNBC and the New York Times contributed to this report.
