Meta is scrambling to dam the discharge of an explosive tell-all memoir that alleges sordid misdeeds by prime brass – together with CEO Mark Zuckerberg and ex-operating chief Sheryl Sandberg.
The social media big received an emergency ruling at an arbitration listening to in Los Angeles on Wednesday to quickly halt promotion of “Careless Folks,” written by Sarah Wynn-Williams, Fb’s former director of public coverage. Wynn-Williams has reportedly filed a whistleblower criticism with the SEC.
The e book claims that Sandberg as soon as spent $13,000 on lingerie for herself and a younger feminine assistant who she later invited to “come to mattress” on a non-public flight residence from Europe. Wynn-Williams additionally accused prime government Joel Kaplan of sexual harassment and Zuckerberg of serving to China to develop censorship instruments in a failed bid to get his social media apps unblocked within the nation.
Emergency arbitrator Nicolas Gowen of the American Arbitration Affiliation cited with Meta’s argument that it confronted “quick and irreparable loss” with out reduction. He additionally discovered that Meta had “established a probability of success on the deserves of its contractual non-disparagement declare” in opposition to Wynn-Williams.
The proceedings came about as a result of Wynn-Williams agreed to an arbitration clause in her severance settlement with Fb, based on the submitting. Wynn-Williams labored at Fb for six years and left in 2017, earlier than it was renamed to Meta.
Within the ruling, Wynn-Williams was ordered to cease additional promotion of the e book or making any disparaging remarks about Meta or its staff and, to the extent inside her management, to cease additional distribution of “Careless Folks.”
E-book writer Macmillan, which revealed the memoir by its imprint Flatiron Books, attended the listening to and argued it was not topic to Wynn-Williams’ arbitration settlement with Meta. The arbitrator’s ruling didn’t seem to order any restrictions on the writer.
As of Thursday morning, main retailers like Amazon and Barnes and Noble had been nonetheless promoting the e book on-line.
The corporate has mentioned Wynn-Williams was fired as a result of “poor efficiency and poisonous conduct.”
“This ruling affirms that Sarah Wynn-Williams’ false and defamatory e book ought to by no means have been revealed,” Meta spokesman Andy Stone wrote in a Threads put up alongside a replica of the arbitration courtroom’s determination.
Stone asserted that Wynn-Williams had “intentionally hid the existence of her e book mission and prevented the trade’s customary fact-checking course of with the intention to rush it to the cabinets after ready for eight years.”
The Meta spokesman mentioned in a earlier assertion that an “investigation on the time decided she made deceptive and unfounded allegations of harassment” and that Wynn-Williams was “paid by anti-Fb activists.”
Macmillian didn’t instantly return a request for touch upon the ruling.
Within the e book, Wynn-Williams alleged that Kaplan – who at present serves as Meta’s international head of public coverage – had made her uncomfortable along with his conduct.
Wynn-Williams claimed that Kaplan as soon as pressed himself in opposition to her on the dance ground at an organization occasion and commented that she seemed “sultry” whereas making unwelcome remarks about her husband.
Later, Kaplan allegedly pestered Wynn-Williams by e-mail to attend weekly videoconferences as she recovered from a near-fatal complication throughout the start of her second youngster.
Kaplan was later cleared of wrongdoing following an organization investigation.
In the meantime, Sarah Feinberg, a former Meta worker, got here to the protection of Kaplan and different executives in a prolonged Threads put up responding to the e book’s claims.
“I labored with Joel Kaplan all through my years at Fb – he was one in all my closest colleagues – and I’ve by no means noticed him be something apart from skilled, considerate, strategic and truthful,” Feinberg wrote.
