Meta is trying to stop a former employee from promoting her book about Facebook
80 comments
·March 13, 2025dmix
1vuio0pswjnm7
"I've been burned enough times by these journalism books whose other good parts become headlines the first week and the rest is some random person's life story."
This one also meets that description, to some extent. The author calls herself a "random New Zealander".
Not sure what "burned" means. Maybe try libraries.
This is not a "journalism book". The author is not a journalist and is not reporting on the "news of the day". It is an autobiography covering a period of the author's life. The author worked at Facebook as a lawyer focused on diplomacy from 2011.
The recounted events concerning Facebook staff often involve multiple persons who are still alive and the facts could easily be corroborated. Alas, non-disparagement clauses may be an impediment.
However, this HN submission, like others on the topic, is not about the book itself. It is about Meta's efforts to stop the book's promotion.
Why try to stop its promotion. If privacy is dead according to Zuckerberg (2010)^1 then why is Meta concerned about this book.
1. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/external/readwri...
Perhaps Meta wants to send a message to other terminated Meta employees who might also write books critical of their former employer.
Zuckerberg is wrong of course. Privacy is not dead.^2 These days, Meta fights for its own privacy to the point of absurdity.
2. https://iapp.org/news/a/privacy-is-not-dead-its-powerful/
There appear to be some allegations of harassment and retaliation in this book by someone still working and recently promoted at Meta. Maybe this is why Meta is trying to stop the book's promotion.
HN comments may focus on the quality of the book or the author but these HN story submissions are about Meta's attempt to stop promotion of the book, not the book itself.
j_bum
I listened to her interview on the Free Press, and to be totally honest, the way it was discussed does feel “gossipy.” [0]
One thing that rubs me the wrong way is her decision to wait to share this information.
When asked that by Weiss during the podcast, her response was effectively, “because AI is getting so powerful, and everyone should know what these companies are doing.”
Don’t get me wrong - I believe what she claims to have happened, and I sympathize with her difficult experience at the company. But what she discussed doesn’t feel like it’s very substantive beyond what could already be deduced or observed.
[0] https://www.thefp.com/p/meet-sarah-wynn-williams-facebooks
TheNewsIsHere
Assuming positive intent, many times the reason for a long wait is to allow NDAs to expire.
j_bum
Fair point. I didn’t hear her mention this in the podcast, but maybe she does in the book.
finnthehuman
> But what she discussed doesn’t feel like it’s very substantive beyond what could already be deduced or observed.
There is still value in having a primary source for it. Even if it's not news to you.
Even on HN when you see an industry open-secret discussed, you'll occasionally have one sub-thread saying "you must be a paranoid conspiracy theorist to even suggest that" while another is the "everyone be knowing that already" sub-thread.
taurath
It’s easier to be principled when you can afford to not have to find work anymore. People who publically criticize tech billionaires tend to not have an easy time with that.
There’s no way to know, as someone who doesn’t know the writer, what her truest motivations are, but it’s probably a good bet that whatever she does she’ll never wield power and influence over the lives of so many people as Mark, who’s dedicated his life to extracting as many resources as he can for his personal empire.
advisedwang
Sure, but that doesn't mean Meta should be able to quash it.
jameskilton
I wasn't planning on buying the book but ...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1250391237?psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DE...
blackhaj7
Hadn’t heard of it until this article about them wanting to block promotion. Instant buy
NBJack
Streisand Effect in full force.
whatamidoingyo
Is that an affiliate link? Clever, if so.
xyst
I’m buying the book, but definitely not from AMZN.
Found it on back order at a local shop and ordered there.
Bookshop.org is a pretty good alternative to AMZN.
TheNewsIsHere
And for ebooks, I’ve found Kobo to be an absolutely fantastic replacement. They also widely support Adobe Editions if that is your jam.
hangonhn
Is there a good replacement for Audible?
xyst
Does Kobo allow you to keep pdfs or epubs of the books? Or is an account always required (DRM)?
ChoGGi
For anyone else looking at it: US and UK only
m463
Others have mentioned bookshop. Why do you prefer it?
unsnap_biceps
Buying a physical book through bookshop.org supports a user chosen local bookshop or, if none is selected, supports a nation wide collection of bookshops. The goal being that it's similar to if you went to the bookshop to buy the book directly.
Ebooks are the same concept, but they're still sold with DRM (AFAIK), so I haven't dove into their app to test it out.
xyst
Besides not being AMZN. They act as a middleman to redirect purchases to local bookstores in your area.
Plus registered/certified as a B-corporation is a plus in my book — https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/find-a-b-corp/company/boo...
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ThePowerOfFuet
Tracking-free link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1250391237
bamboozled
Yup, I have to listen to the audio book now.
hsuduebc2
Corporations are never truly your friends and should be treated accordingly. For some reason, we once believed that tech companies were different, but in reality, it was always just a more sophisticated facade. It’s good to see that facade being torn down—this should be obvious to everyone. You wouldn’t expect good behavior from BP Oil, so why expect it from Meta or any other tech giant? They all operate under the same logic: profit first, everything else is just a convenient disguise. Hope Streisand effects work fully for her!
Gud
Tech companies were different and still are.
The problem is that for some reason, advertising companies such as Meta and Google are considered tech companies by some.
You wouldn’t call red bull an extreme sports company, just because they fund extreme sport events?
I bet Rocket Lab is a great company to work at for a nerd.
xdavidliu
> Tech companies were different and still are.
what would be an example of a tech company (for a fair comparison, a large one would be nice), and how is it different in the sense of not exhibiting the behaviors of this book?
Gud
An example would be a company with a primary stream is technology, not selling advertisements or data from social media users.
Siemens, Nvidia, AMD, etc.
insane_dreamer
I don’t think that tech companies are inherently different by virtue of being tech companies. There are good ones and bad ones just like in other industries. There’s nothing special about “tech” that makes it a better place to work.
JohnFen
> Tech companies were different and still are.
It sure doesn't look like it to me.
s1artibartfast
Different from advertising companies.
There is a pretty clear difference in attitude and behavior when you are the customer vs the product.
Your run of the mill B2C will be more responsive to customer desires than a company with differentiated users and customers.
By way of example, the company like Netflix might has viewers as a customer. The company like Facebook has users, but the advertisers are customers.
anon373839
> From trips on private jets and encounters with world leaders to shocking accounts of misogyny and double standards behind the scenes, this searing memoir exposes both the personal and the political fallout when unfettered power and a rotten company culture take hold. In a gripping and often absurd narrative where a few people carelessly hold the world in their hands, this eye-opening memoir reveals what really goes on among the global elite.
Hell of a pitch. I'll buy.
ashoeafoot
Why is misogyny such a cenrral thing? They cooperate with dictators and kill people , yet the sales atrocity is internal discrimination ?
jazzyjackson
Maybe just the hypocrisy of making themselves the moral moderator of Western civilization / having a COO write a femanifesto* while internally being no better than other other old boys club
*lean in
rsynnott
It appears to cover the Burma stuff, too.
However, to an extent, that's old news; everyone already knows about it to at least some extent, and thus it is a bad subject for a tell-all memoir.
trhway
>this eye-opening memoir reveals what really goes on among the global elite
I wonder how many time it should be revealed to stop being an eye-opening and a revelation.
Brief look over the article and the photos, and it seems like a usual story - somebody is happy to be a part of the viper nest at the very top until they get kicked out, and then "eye-opening revelations" come out (of course i think that Meta shouldn't be able to block it, until it is some NDA stuff)
6stringmerc
In fairness that’s how most power structures crumble throughout history. The USSR didn’t collapse because of low level revolution - disenfranchised senior leadership lost the handle. The mistake of using people for a time and thinking they won’t come back to haunt you is naive and I’m all for it.
Many of my hardest life lessons learned was because I was willingly working for people who were keeping me blind to their actual nature and motives and it was disguised at the time. The alternative wheee people just shrug and don’t document it for history - gossip or not - is a bad alternative.
redeux
Not just promoting but:
> to the extent within Respondent Wynn-Williams' control, from further publishing or distributing Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism, including with respect to electronic and audio versions of the book;
https://about.fb.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Arbitration-...
dakial1
Book review at the NYT: https://archive.is/vN0Jp#selection-1333.0-1333.13
sam1r
FWIW, it is on libgen.
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achow
This review is TL;DR of the book. Thanks.
anonymousiam
The summary I read mentioned arbitration, which she probably agreed to when she signed her employment contract. Not surprisingly, the arbiter ruled against her. I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice, but IMHO she should ignore their ruling and the let FB sue her, where she would get a fair hearing and probably win.
ukoki
The News Agents podcast just did an interview with Wynn-Williams
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/special-episode-inside...
auxbuss
Thanks. This is excellent, as you'd expect from Emily Maitlis.
whatever1
That explains why after Zuck started calling for return of masculinity to the workplace, the former accused exec immediately sided with him. It's all tit for tat.
dmix
The full interview is a bit more nuanced, he talked about how they need to keep rising up women in leadership and how they have been very important to FBs success which he wants to keep promoting but he had some concerns they got caught up and went a bit too far in some ways. The context was semi personal as he was being asked about his entry into MMA and how it has shaped his personal life.
whatever1
No it is not. This is PR speak. Here is his exact quote: “I think that having a culture that celebrates the aggression has its merits” He knew what he was talking about.
coro_1
The image makeover is unprecedented for a CEO.
Also from that JRE podcast with the masculinity and workplace conversation, he's working the bow and arrow chit chat from that long form interview in a recent podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQZjrVEOpOk
dmix
It's a pretty common narrative for CEOs to get into fitness later in life, especially running. I'd imagine it's pretty hard to be successful at a demanding job after 40+ if you're not in decent physical shape. Easier to go hard in your 20s.
disgruntledphd2
He's been running for at least a decade.
Apocryphon
Bezos?
coro_1
Yes their end game appears different. Meta has created a new archetype.
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light_triad
Meta is starting to have a whistleblower problem:
- Sarah Wynn-Williams (2025)
- Arturo Bejar (2023)
- Frances Haugen (2021)
- Sophie Zhang (2020)
- Chris Hughes, Co-Founder (2019)
- Roger McNamee, Investor (2019)
- Christopher Wylie (2018)
- Alex Stamos, ex-CSO (2018)
- Brian Acton, Co-Founder WhatsApp (2017)
- Sean Parker, ex-President (2017)
- Chamath Palihapitiya (2017)
- Justin Rosenstein (2017)
Ex-Meta executive: ‘People deserve to know what this company is really like’
https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/11/tech/meta-whistleblower-book-...
Meta’s Response to Explosive Tell-All Is Ripped From a Familiar PR Playbook
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/metas-response-explosi...
kirubakaran
Don't forget the very first whistleblower:
- Mark Zuckerberg (2004)
"People just submitted it. I don't know why. They 'trust me'. Dumb fucks"
alex1138
Brian Acton ensures I'll never use Whatsapp. Clear antitrust case
segmondy
I saw about the book earlier, didn't care about reading it. Then I saw about the arbitration on the news and immediately ordered a copy.
rsynnott
> Wynn-Williams sees Zuckerberg change while she’s at Facebook. Desperate to be liked, he becomes increasingly hungry for attention and adulation, shifting his focus from coding and engineering to politics. On a tour of Asia, she is directed to gather a crowd of more than one million so that he can be “gently mobbed.”
Well, now I'll have to buy it, I suppose. Streisand at it again.
> Described by its publisher as an “explosive insider account,” Wynn-Williams reveals some new details about Mark Zuckerberg’s push to bring Facebook to China a decade ago. She also alleges that Meta's current policy chief, Joel Kaplan, acted inappropriately, and reveals embarrassing details about Zuckerberg’s awkward encounters with world leaders
I'm interested in the topic but this sounds gossipy. I've been burned enough times by these insider journalism books whose only good parts become headlines within the first week and the rest is some random person's life story.