Meta has won an emergency ruling in the US to temporarily stop a former director of Facebook from promoting or further distributing copies of her memoir.
The book, Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams, who used to be the company’s global public policy director, includes a series of critical claims about what she witnessed during her seven years working at Facebook.
Facebook’s parent company, Meta, says the ruling – which orders her to stop promotions “to the extent within her control” – affirms that “the false and defamatory book should never have been published”.
The UK publisher Macmillan says it is “committed to upholding freedom of speech” and Ms Wynn-Williams’ “right to tell her story”.
It told the BBC that she had been due to do “extensive media” in the UK and internationally and “has been prevented from doing so”.
At a hearing on Wednesday at the American Arbitration Association – a neutral third party which resolves disputes out of court – Ms Wynn-Williams was told she must refrain from engaging in or “amplifying any further disparaging, crucial or otherwise detrimental comments”.
All previous disparaging comments “to the extent within her control” must also be retracted, the ruling also said.
The book is former New Zealand diplomat Ms Wynn-Williams’ account of joining Facebook in 2011 and watching it grow from a “front row seat”.
Her allegations include that executives had worked “hand in glove” with the Chinese government on potential ways of allowing Beijing to censor and control content in exchange for access to the lucrative market.
Meta disputes the allegations contained in the book. Regarding China, it says it is “no secret we were once interested” in operating services there. “We ultimately opted not to go through with the ideas we’d explored.”
Ms Wynn-Williams has also filed a whistleblower complaint with the US markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), alleging Meta misled investors – which Meta also denies. The BBC has reviewed the complaint.
During the emergency hearing the arbitrator, Nicholas Gowen, found Meta had provided enough evidence that Ms Wynn-Williams had potentially violated her severance contract. She did not personally attend Thursday’s hearing.
In his ruling, Mr Gowan said Meta would suffer “immediate and irreparable loss” in the absence of a temporary ruling in the case.
He did not order the book’s publisher, Flatiron Books, or its parent company, Macmillan, to take any action.
The ruling will remain in effect unless it is modified or lifted following a full hearing.
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.”
Careless People was released in the US, where it is number six on the Amazon chart, on Tuesday. It was published in the UK on Thursday.
In a statement, a spokeswoman for Macmillan said: “As publishers, we are committed to upholding freedom of speech and her right to tell her story. Due to legal process instituted by Meta, the author has been prevented from continuing to participate in the book’s publicity.”
By BBC News
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