Meta Wins Legal Victory, Stops Promotion of Ex-Employee's Critical Book

Image Credit: Reuters

Meta Platforms (META) secured an emergency arbitration ruling on Wednesday that temporarily halts the promotion of the tell-all book "Careless People," written by former employee Sarah Wynn-Williams. The book, which offers a critical look at Meta’s executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, former COO Sheryl Sandberg, and Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan, was described by the New York Times as an "ugly, detailed portrait" of the company.

The emergency arbitrator, Nicholas Gowen, ruled that Meta would face "immediate and irreparable loss" without emergency relief, following a hearing that Wynn-Williams did not attend. Macmillan, the book’s publisher, argued it was not bound by an arbitration agreement tied to Wynn-Williams' severance deal with Meta.

The ruling instructs Wynn-Williams to cease promoting the book and to prevent further publication if possible. It does not mandate any actions by the publisher. Meta’s spokesperson, Andy Stone, stated on Threads that the ruling confirms the book's content is "false and defamatory" and should not have been published.

Neither Wynn-Williams nor Macmillan immediately commented on the decision.

Paraphrasing text from "Reuters" all rights reserved by the original author