Whistleblower’s exposé of the cult of Mark Zuckerberg reveals peril of power-crazy tech bros | John Naughton

Meta’s attempt to silence ex-employee Sarah Wynn-Williams has drawn attention to its work on stifling freedom of expression in China

There’s nothing more satisfying than watching a corporate giant make a stupid mistake. The behemoth in question is Meta, and when Careless People, a whistleblowing book by a former senior employee, Sarah Wynn-Williams, came out last week, its panic-stricken lawyers immediately tried to have it suppressed by the Emergency International Arbitral Tribunal. This strange institution obligingly (and sternly) enjoined Wynn-Williams “from making orally, in writing, or otherwise any ‘disparaging, critical or otherwise detrimental comments to any person or entity concerning [Meta], its officers, directors, or employees’ ”. To which her publisher, Macmillan, issued a statement that could succinctly be summarised thus: “Get stuffed.”

Clearly, nobody in Meta has heard of the Streisand effect, “an unintended consequence of attempts to hide, remove or censor information, where the effort instead increases public awareness of the information”. The company has now ensured that Wynn-Williams’s devastating critique of it [see our review inthe New Review] will become a world bestseller.

Topics

Facebook whistleblower alleges ‘lethal carelessness’ in new book

Sarah Wynn-Williams, who worked at Facebook for six years, opens up about her experience at the tech giant, what she calls the company’s “lethal carelessness” and her views on Mark Zuckerberg in a ...
NBC News - 5d
Ruling Stops Promotion of Meta Exposé Book

Meta’s former director of global public policy Sarah Wynn-Williams penned the tell-all.
Inc. - 2d
Meta goes to arbitrator to prevent whistleblower from promoting tell-all book

An emergency arbitrator ruled that former Meta staffer Sarah Wynn-Williams is prohibited from promoting memoir of her tenure at the social media company.
CNBC - 2d
Meta Tries to Stop Sarah Wynn-Williams From Further Selling Scathing Memoir

An arbitrator has prevented the employee from promoting her book and disparaging the company until private arbitration concludes.
The New York Times - 2d
How Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses fit into Mark Zuckerberg's vision of a smartphone successor

Smart glasses have the potential to become a "very important computing platform in the future," according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
CNBC - Mar. 8
Arbitrator sides with Meta in bid to halt sales of ex-employee's memoir

An arbitrator has sided with Meta in its case against a former employee who made a series of misconduct allegations about the Facebook and Instagram parent company in a memoir published this week. ...
The Hill - 2d
Ex-Facebook employee alleges sexual harassment and human rights failures in new memoir

The book by Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former New Zealand diplomat, addresses Facebook’s impact on democracy during a crucial period in its history.
NBC News - 5d
World Boxing adds China's powerful federation, 5 more to its growing membership

World Boxing has added China to its growing list of members
ABC News - 3d
Federal Cuts Prompt Johns Hopkins to Cut More Than 2,000 Workers

The university, a leader in scientific research, has been hard hit by the Trump administration’s cuts, which will slash at least $800 million from its budget.
The New York Times - 1d

More from The Guardian

Keir Starmer: ‘Putin is dragging his feet over 30-day Ukraine ceasefire’

Prime minister tells a summit of 29 leaders that the Russian president cannot delay peace talks indefinitely. Keir Starmer accused Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet over agreeing to a ceasefire ...
The Guardian - 4h
Serbians stage huge protest in Belgrade against their president

Farmers and bikers join students in climax to movement that Aleksandar Vučić labels an ‘imported revolution’. A vast demonstration has been gathering in Belgrade, marking the climax of more than ...
The Guardian - 5h
Trump invokes 18th-century wartime act to deport five Venezuelans

Proclamation comes just hours after judge had ruled Alien Enemies Act of 1798 cannot be used. Donald Trump has invoked the wartime Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport five Venezuelan nationals from ...
The Guardian - 1h
Israeli airstrikes ‘kill nine’ as Hamas restates Gaza ceasefire demands

Militant group hardening its negotiating position in ceasefire talks amid new violence in territory. The current fragile pause in hostilities in Gaza has come under further threat with Hamas ...
The Guardian - 5h
‘Spreadsheets of empire’: red tape goes back 4,000 years, say scientists after Iraq finds

Ancient Mesopotamian stone tablets show extraordinary detail and reach of government in cradle of world civilisations. The red tape of government bureaucracy spans more than 4,000 years, according ...
The Guardian - 11h