Despite Meta’s best efforts, Sarah Wynn-Williams’ memoir about her time at the company, “Careless People,” remains among the best-selling titles nearly 17 years after its release. Now, a Republican US senator wants Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to stop pursuing her.
Wynn-Williams must be the unluckiest author out there – and it’s Meta’s fault.
Her book, depicting Meta’s dealings with China and its exploitative treatment of underage users, is still selling great, but under an interim arbitration ruling secured by the tech giant, Wynn Williams isn’t allowed to speak about it in public.
At literary festivals and events, the author has been advised by her lawyers to remain silent, even though she recently sued Meta over the restrictions, which amount to a gag order.
Wynn-Williams is also “not permitted to engage in informal discussions with legislators in the United States and Europe” because “nothing would limit or prevent those legislators (or their aides) from parroting to the public,” the ruling also says.
Now, though, the whistleblower has a new, relatively powerful ally, Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, known for aggressively targeting big tech and – uniquely – collaborating with Democrats such as Bernie Sanders.
In a letter to Zuckerberg, Hawley demands to know what measures Meta had taken to monitor Wynn-Williams – Facebook’s former global head of public policy – and her family.
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