Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former Meta executive and author of the memoir “Careless People,” has sued the tech giant, challenging an arbitration order that bars her from publicly discussing the company or promoting her bestselling book. The memoir offers a critical account of her time at Meta and includes allegations of a toxic workplace culture, sexual harassment, and gender discrimination.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court in Northern California, argues that Meta’s arbitration order is unenforceable. It also claims the severance agreement Wynn-Williams signed when she left the company—which included a non-disparagement clause—was executed under duress.
Wynn-Williams was the director of global public policy at Facebook from 2011 until her firing in 2017. The memoir alleges cruel and otherwise disturbing behavior by CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other executives. It also describes Zuckerberg’s alleged efforts to win favor with Chinese officials. Meta responded by saying that Wynn-Williams violated her agreement and wrote a book filled with inaccuracies.
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According to the lawsuit, Meta is seeking $50,000 in damages for each time Wynn-Williams purportedly violates the non-disparagement agreement, causing financial duress. She is asking the court to lift the arbitration order and vacate her severance agreement with the company.
Meta said in a statement that its “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 severance payment years ago. Her book is divorced from reality, disparaging and riddled with false claims.”
The lawsuit also said that Meta had obtained an emergency gag order that bars Wynn-Williams and her lawyers from criticizing the company or promoting her book. It mentioned that she was surveilled by the tech giant with company representatives attending her public appearances and photographing her, to ensure she didn’t say anything about Meta.
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According to a report by The Guardian, Wynn-Williams attended the Hay Festival, a literary event in Wales alongside the journalist Carole Cadwalladr and the academic Tim Wu but she did not speak out based on legal advice. Despite this, Meta wrote to the merits arbitrator on June 12 to request that it impose additional sanctions based on her appearance, the complaint says.
“Meta is pursuing Ms. Wynn-Williams at the expense of free speech and legal constraints not only because she refused to bow to the greed and power of Meta, Mr. Zuckerberg, and other executives, but also to strike fear into the heart of anyone else who dares to consider speaking the truth about Meta’s unlawful and abusive practices in the public interest,” the lawsuit says.