Meta has notched an early victory in its try and halt a shock tell-all memoir from a former coverage government turned whistleblower. An arbitrator has sided with the social media firm, saying that the e book’s creator ought to cease promoting and publicizing the e book, which went on sale earlier this week.
The drama stems from Careless Folks, a brand new e book by Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former coverage official at Fb who Meta says was fired in 2017. Described by its writer as an “explosive insider account,” Wynn-Williams reveals some new particulars about Mark Zuckerberg’s push to convey Fb to China a decade in the past. She additionally alleges that Meta's present coverage chief, Joel Kaplan, acted inappropriately, and divulges embarrassing particulars about Zuckerberg’s awkward encounters with world leaders
The e book was solely introduced final week, and Meta has waged a forceful PR marketing campaign towards it, calling it a “new e book of outdated information.” Quite a few former staff have publicly disputed Wynn-Williams’ account of occasions that transpired whereas she labored at Fb.
Meta additionally filed an emergency movement with an arbitrator in an try to dam the e book, arguing that Wynn-Williams had violated a non-disparagement settlement with the corporate. In a choice, the arbitrator mentioned that she ought to instantly cease making disparaging feedback about Meta and cease “additional publishing or distributing” the e book. It’s unclear what precisely this implies for the e book, which is already on sale. The writer, Flatiron Books, which was additionally named in Meta’s grievance, didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
“This ruling affirms that Sarah Wynn Williams’ false and defamatory e book ought to by no means have been printed,” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone mentioned in an announcement. “This pressing authorized motion was made needed by Williams, who greater than eight years after being terminated by the corporate, intentionally hid the existence of her e book undertaking and prevented the trade’s commonplace fact-checking course of with a view to rush it to cabinets after ready for eight years.”
This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-is-trying-to-stop-a-former-employee-from-promoting-her-book-about-facebook-004938899.html?src=rss
