Meta is trying to block ex-employee’s book alleging misconduct and harassment

An arbitrator has decided successful favour of Meta successful a lawsuit the institution brought against Sarah Wynn-Williams, the erstwhile Meta worker who wrote a memoir published this week detailing alleged claims of misconduct astatine the company. Macmillan Publishers and its imprint that published the memoir, Flatiron Books, were besides named arsenic respondents.

The memoir, titled Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism, specifications alleged claims of intersexual harassment, including by existent argumentation main Joel Kaplan, who was her boss, according to NBC News.

In the decision, the arbitrator said Wynn-Williams must extremity making disparaging remarks against Meta and its labor and, to the grade that she tin control, cease further promoting the book, further publishing the book, and further repetition of erstwhile disparaging remarks. The determination besides says she must retract disparaging remarks from wherever they person appeared.

However, it’s unclear if this arbitrator really has the authority to halt the publishing of the book aliases if Wynn-Williams tin extremity the creation of early versions; arsenic of this writing, it’s presently for waste astatine stores for illustration Amazon and Barnes & Noble. In the decision, the arbitrator noted that the lawyer representing Macmillian and Flatiron objected to its jurisdiction. Wynn-Williams appears to person signed an arbitration statement erstwhile she near Meta successful 2017.

Meta, Macmillan, and Flatiron didn’t instantly reply to requests for comment.

“This ruling affirms that Sarah Wynn-Williams’ mendacious and defamatory book should ne'er person been published,” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone says successful a statement. “This urgent ineligible action was made basal by Williams, who much than 8 years aft being terminated by the company, deliberately concealed the beingness of her book task and avoided the industry’s modular fact-checking process successful bid to unreserved it to shelves aft waiting for 8 years.”