Meta wins legal ruling to stop promotion of book by former executive
A new book by former senior Facebook employee Sarah Wynn-Williams has been temporarily blocked from being promoted or further distributed after Meta won an emergency ruling.
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A new book by a former Facebook executive, which makes serious claims about the company, cannot be further promoted or distributed, due to an emergency ruling obtained by Meta, Facebook's parent company.
In a recent interview with The News Agents, Sarah Wynn-Williams told Emily Maitlis about her experiences while working at the social media company between 2011 and 2017.
Facebook has denied all claims made in Careless People.
Following the decision, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a post on X: "This ruling affirms that Sarah Wynn-Williams' false and defamatory book should never have been published."
The book, published in the UK by MacMillan, hit shelves today (13 March 2025) and the publisher has said it is Wynn-Williams' "right to tell her story" and said it is committed to upholding freedom of speech.
Careless People makes claims about Facebook's involvement in Donald Trump's election in 2016, as well as claims that Facebook worked to help the Chinese Communist Party spy on its citizens and worked on advertising tools to target vulnerable young people.
Prior to publication, she said she had kept the book secret due to fears of legal challenges from Facebook and Meta.
"I worried that, after going through all the various things that go into writing a book, that the company that believes in freedom of speech, might try and stop it," she told Emily Maitlis.
"I understand that there's an irony there, but it was genuinely a concern."
She says the book is not about getting revenge on the company and also includes positive moments from her time at Facebook.
"It's a company that believes in freedom of speech, so I'm really hoping that they live their values," she added.
A Meta spokesperson told The News Agents that claims made in the book were a "mix of out-of-date and previously reported claims about the company and false accusations about our executives."
"Eight years ago, Sarah Wynn-Williams was fired for poor performance and toxic behaviour, and an investigation at the time determined she made misleading and unfounded allegations of harassment," they said.
"Since then, she has been paid by anti-Facebook activists and this is simply a continuation of that work. Whistleblower status protects communications to the government, not disgruntled activists trying to sell books."