Former Meta executive sues company over efforts to block her memoir

A former Meta executive has filed suit in federal court in Northern California, accusing the social media giant of trying to silence her and unlawfully enforce restrictions tied to her severance. Sarah Wynn Williams, who was Facebook’s director of global public policy from 2011 until her termination in 2017, says an arbitration order and a non disparagement clause in her severance agreement unlawfully bar her from speaking about the company or promoting her memoir, Careless People.

Wynn Williams’ book, which offers a critical insider account of life at Meta and alleges troubling conduct by CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other executives, has become a bestseller. Meta has countered that the memoir contains inaccuracies and that Wynn Williams breached the terms of the agreement she signed when she accepted a substantial severance payment.

The lawsuit says Meta is seeking USD 50,000 for each alleged violation of the non disparagement clause, placing Wynn Williams under financial duress, and asks the court to vacate the severance agreement and lift the arbitration order. It further alleges that Meta obtained an emergency gag order preventing Wynn Williams and her lawyers from criticising the company or promoting the book, and that company representatives have monitored and photographed her public appearances to show she did not speak about Meta.

Meta said the former employee is using the courts to market a book an arbitrator already found breached her agreement, calling the memoir “divorced from reality, disparaging and riddled with false claims.” Wynn Williams’ complaint accuses Meta of targeting her to chill free speech and deter others from publicly exposing the company’s practices.