Bestselling author sues Meta, alleging retaliation and illegal arbitration over whistleblower claims tied to Facebook memoir
A bestselling former Facebook executive has filed a lawsuit against Meta, alleging the company is using unlawful arbitration proceedings to retaliate against her after she published a memoir detailing her time at the company and raising allegations of misconduct and workplace abuse.
Sarah Wynn-Williams, who worked at Facebook from 2011 until her termination in 2017, claims she was fired in retaliation for reporting her supervisor, then–vice president for public policy Joel Kaplan, for alleged sexual harassment. Kaplan is now Meta’s chief global affairs officer.
In her 2025 memoir, Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism, Wynn-Williams describes her firing and other claims about the company, which she characterizes as “lethal carelessness.” She says she later became the target of legal action after speaking out publicly, including in her book.
In her federal complaint, Wynn-Williams alleges Meta is punishing her for disclosing what she describes as “illegal and indefensible workplace conditions and corporate misconduct” to regulators and Congress, as well as in her memoir. She also claims the company has refused to reimburse roughly $310,000 in business expenses under a severance agreement.
She argues that Meta has attempted to silence her through arbitration, which she describes as unlawful, and says a recent emergency arbitration ruling has restricted her speech and professional opportunities while allowing the company to monitor her conduct.
The lawsuit also revisits several allegations from her time at Facebook, including claims about underinvestment in staff and resources, concerns over the company’s impact in Myanmar, and assertions regarding Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s alleged willingness to share user data with the Chinese government in exchange for market access. She also alleges the company failed to adequately protect young users from exploitative advertising practices.
Her attorney, Debra Katz, said the case centers on Meta’s treatment of whistleblowers and its use of arbitration and nondisclosure agreements to suppress internal criticism.
Meta, however, rejected the claims, with a company spokesperson saying the former employee is attempting to use the legal system to promote her book and that an arbitrator already found she violated the terms of her severance agreement.
The lawsuit asks the court to vacate the arbitration ruling, block enforcement of the severance agreement, and allow the case to proceed before a jury.
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