A new memoir by a former Meta Platforms Inc.

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executive reveals how Facebook’s massive campaign to promote Free Basics in India was ultimately undone by a single click.

What Happened: In "Careless People," a memoir by former Facebook executive Sarah Wynn-Williams, the author said that the social media giant’s 2016 efforts to salvage its controversial Free Basics program in India were thwarted by a "low-ranking" official at the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), according to a report by the Economic Times.

"Mark [Zuckerberg] and some of the brightest tech minds in the world devoted months to this [outreach strategy], and some low-ranking official in India outfoxed them simply by clicking an opt-out box," Wynn-Williams writes in the book.

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At the time, Facebook (now Meta) had launched a massive lobbying and public relations push to save Free Basics, a program designed to offer limited internet access for free in emerging markets.

Critics argued it violated net neutrality by giving preferential treatment to certain websites and services.

According to the memoir, Facebook used its vast platform to prompt users in India to send nearly 16 million emails to TRAI in support of Free Basics, creating what Wynn-Williams describes as "the appearance of public support."

The campaign backfired when a TRAI official—reportedly someone responsible...

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