The lawyer representing Meta whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams has revealed that he too is prevented from promoting her memoir under a legal ruling, following her silent appearance at the Hay festival. Ravi Naik stated that the terms of an arbitration proceeding prohibit both Wynn-Williams and her 'agents' from promoting her bestselling book Careless People or making any disparaging remarks about the company.
Naik spoke after Wynn-Williams was compelled to sit in silence during a scheduled appearance at Hay on Sunday due to the ruling. He explained that an interim arbitration ruling meant she risked being forced to pay 'punitive' damages if he promoted the book. 'Never in my life have I faced a circumstance where my client cannot speak about her truth and I as a lawyer cannot speak on behalf of my client,' Naik told BBC Radio's Today programme on Monday.
Meta has claimed that the book, which contains allegations about the social media company's behavior and culture, is false and defamatory. It also includes accusations of sexual harassment, which the company denies. Meta says Wynn-Williams was fired for 'poor performance and toxic behaviour'. Naik emphasized that Meta's stance on Wynn-Williams's Hay appearance was not a 'hypothetical threat'.
According to Naik, Meta had stated in writing that they considered Wynn-Williams's attendance at the Hay talk a 'breach' of the interim arbitration award and would seek sanctions if she promoted the book or criticized Meta during her appearance. Naik indicated that Meta would likely seek to uphold the arbitration award, issued in California, through British courts.
Wynn-Williams was originally scheduled to appear on stage in conversation with investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr and academic Tim Wu. Instead, she spent the allotted hour sitting silently in front of the audience, unable to nod or shake her head. Introducing the panel, Cadwalladr remarked: 'I think this might be a Hay first, in which we have an author in a hostage situation. Blink once if you can hear us, Sarah, twice if Mark Zuckerberg is an asshole.'
In testimony before a Senate judiciary subcommittee last year, Wynn-Williams alleged that Meta worked 'hand in glove' with China on censorship tools—a claim the company has denied. Republican Senator Josh Hawley claimed at the hearing that Wynn-Williams had been threatened with a fine of $50,000 (£37,000) every time she mentioned Facebook in public. However, the BBC reported that, according to Meta, she faced those damages for each violation of the separation agreement she signed upon leaving the company in 2017.
Labour MP Louise Haigh claimed last year that Wynn-Williams was being 'pushed to financial ruin' by Meta's legal stance. Meta declined to comment directly on Wynn-Williams's Hay appearance but has previously described Careless People as a 'mix of out-of-date and previously reported claims about the company and false accusations about our executives'.
