Ex-Facebook policy chief sues Meta to overturn – Business News
A former Facebook policy govt is suing Meta over an arbitration order that has barred her for more than a yr from talking about her explosive memoir detailing her six-year tenure on the tech giant.
Sarah Wynn-Williams alleged Meta has used an invalid arbitration settlement to search financial penalties of $50,000 for every purported violation of the gag order – together with every guide sale, in accordance to a go well with filed Thursday in US District Court for the Northern District of California.
Her guide, “Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism,” a No. 1 New York Times bestseller, alleged Facebook executives and “careless” CEO Mark Zuckerberg have been keen to share knowledge with the Chinese Communist Party in exchange for entry to the Chinese market.
Meta whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams testifies during a Senate listening to on Capitol Hill on April 9, 2025. The Washington Post by way of Getty Images
Wynn-Williams additionally accused her former bosses of sexual harassment, alleging Joel Kaplan, Meta’s president of world affairs, pressed towards her on the dance ground at a work occasion and known as her “sultry.”
She additionally wrote that Sheryl Sandberg, Meta’s former chief working officer, spent $13,000 on lingerie for herself and a younger feminine assistant during a journey to Europe, and requested Wynn-Williams to be part of her in “the only bed on the plane” during a flight home on a personal jet.
“This 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,” a Meta spokesperson instructed The Post.
Wynn-Williams was fired in 2017 and an investigation on the time discovered she made false claims towards her colleagues, in accordance to the company. An inner investigation into Kaplan in the end cleared him of any wrongdoing, Meta has mentioned.
Zuckerberg has mentioned the company doesn’t operate its providers in China as a result of it might by no means attain an settlement “on what it would take for us to operate there.”
A consultant for Sandberg declined to remark.
Joel Kaplan, Meta’s chief world affairs officer, was accused of urgent towards Wynn-Williams during a work occasion and calling her “sultry.” REUTERS
Soon after Macmillan’s Flatiron imprint revealed Wynn-Williams guide in March 2025, an arbitrator ruled that she needed to stop making “disparaging, critical, or otherwise detrimental comments” about Facebook and its staff.
Wynn-Williams is in search of to get that arbitration order lifted, her severance settlement with Meta voided and compensatory damages for misplaced guide gross sales and talking charges.
In the meantime, Wynn-Williams has seemingly discovered a approach round halting her public appearances altogether.
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In May, she attended the Hay Festival, a prestigious literary occasion, as an skilled panelist on digital technology and public policy – however she sat on-stage in full silence for the complete hour, per the advice of her lawyer.
After her look on the Hay Festival, which takes place in a small city on the border of England and Wales, gross sales of “Careless People” soared more than 300% within the UK, in accordance to the Guardian.
A Meta consultant additionally traveled to the competition, and Meta requested that the arbitrator sanction Wynn-Williams for attending the occasion, she alleged in her grievance.
Wynn-Williams accused Sheryl Sandberg (above) of spending $13,000 on lingerie for herself and a younger feminine assistant during a work journey. Getty Images
After she was fired from Meta, Wynn-Williams signed a severance settlement that included a non-disparagement settlement and necessary arbitration clauses, in accordance to the lawsuit.
She alleged Meta had made its reimbursement of $300,000 in pre-approved business bills – together with journey prices for Zuckerberg – conditional on her signing the settlement. Meta in the end reimbursed a fraction of the costs, the grievance mentioned.
The tech giant additionally allegedly insisted she signal the severance settlement to keep healthcare protection for herself and her youngsters, which was “critical” given a “life-threatening health condition” she skilled during childbirth, in accordance to the grievance.
“Careless People” grew to become a No. 1 New York Times bestseller.
A yr later, Facebook introduced it might no longer drive staff to arbitrate claims associated to sexual harassment, and in 2022, California banned employers from utilizing separation agreements that prohibit the disclosure of unlawful work acts.
In a 2022 proxy assertion, Meta’s board wrote: “We do not require our personnel to enter into employment agreements that include non-disparagement clauses that would prevent them from discussing workplace conduct.”
Wynn-Williams believed this “policy shift permitted her” to communicate freely, “and that she would not be forced to arbitrate any claims” – so she filed whistleblower complaints with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice, and agreed to publish a guide, in accordance to the grievance.
News Corp, The Post’s proprietor, has an AI content-licensing deal with Meta.
