Jump to content

Sarah Wynn-Williams

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sarah Wynn-Williams
Wynn-Williams in 2014
Born1979 or 1980 (age 45–46)[1]
Christchurch, New Zealand
OccupationDirector of Public Policy
Notable workCareless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism

Sarah Wynn-Williams (born 1979 or 1980) is a New Zealand lawyer, public policy expert, and author. She was formerly the Director of Public Policy at Facebook. Her book Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism was released in 2025 over Facebook's objections.

Early life

[edit]

Wynn-Williams grew up in Christchurch.[2] In 1993, she was reportedly attacked by a shark as a teenager while holidaying at the Golden Bay Holiday Park in Tukurua (part of Parapara) in Golden Bay / Mohua.[1][3] She graduated with a B.A. from the University of Canterbury and a M.L. from Victoria University.[4]

Career

[edit]

Wynn-Williams practiced law at the Mallesons, Stephen, Jacques law firm. From 2002–2007, she was a policy adviser in the New Zealand government. From 2007–2011, she managed New Zealand's political affairs and government relations office at its embassy in Washington, D.C. She has also worked for Oxfam International.[4]

Wynn-Williams began working for Facebook in 2011, eventually becoming its global public policy director.[5] Facebook terminated Williams's employment in 2017, because of alleged "poor performance and toxic behavior".[6] Williams has stated she believes this was in retaliation for reporting her boss Joel Kaplan for sexual harassment.[7]

Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism

[edit]
Main article: Careless People

In 2025, she released a book about her career at Facebook called Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism. Facebook threatened legal action[8][9] and an arbitrator prohibited Williams from promoting the book.[10][11] Facebook is attempting to enforce a non-disparagement agreement.[12] Facebook/Meta has argued that the book is "out of date" and does not reflect current practices.[9]

In what has been described as an example of the Streisand effect, Facebook's legal action led to greater publicity and increased book sales.[13][14][15]

In their review of the book, The Guardian's Stuart Jeffries said that Wynn-Williams' retelling of her time at Facebook had "cult vibes" and involves strong criticism of internet.org and Facebook's corporate leadership.[16] Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, a former head of public policy for Meta in Bangladesh who worked for the company at different times than Wynn-Williams, described the book as "a courageous feat, but it glosses over [Wynn-Williams's] own indifference to warnings from policymakers, civil society, and internal teams outside the U.S. about serious harm to communities from Facebook."[17]

Wynn-Williams testified about Facebook/Meta before the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 9, 2025.[18]

Personal life

[edit]

Wynn-Williams is married to a journalist. She has three children.[16][19]

Works

[edit]
  • Wynn-Williams, Sarah (2025). Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism. New York: Flatiron Books. ISBN 978-1-250-39123-0. OCLC 1504756807.[20][21][22][23][24][25]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Hubbard, Catherine (March 22, 2025). "Mystery shark attack victim revealed as Sarah Wynn-Williams". The Nelson Mail. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  2. ^ Hill, Julie (March 24, 2025). "When Zuck snubbed Key: Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams, reviewed". The Spinoff. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
  3. ^ Wynn-Williams, Sarah (2025). Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism. New York: Flatiron Books. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-250-39123-0. OCLC 1504756807.
  4. ^ a b "Sarah Wynn-Williams". World Economic Forum. March 10, 2025. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  5. ^ Duffy, Clare (March 11, 2025). "Ex-Meta executive: 'People deserve to know what this company is really like'". CNN. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  6. ^ Daisley, Bruce. "Careless People—the jaw-dropping account of Sarah Wynn-Williams' time at Facebook—The executive's harrowing, tell-all memoir questions the integrity of the world's biggest social network company". Financial Times. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  7. ^ Rissman, Kelly (March 13, 2025). "Ex-Facebook worker claims she was fired after she reported sexual harassment by company executive". MSN. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  8. ^ Datta, Anupriya (March 10, 2025). "Meta to take legal action against Macmillan books over explosive memoir". Euractiv. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  9. ^ a b Zavaleta, Jonathan (March 10, 2025). "Meta Forcefully Responds to 'Searing' Memoir From Former Facebook Official". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  10. ^ Vanian, Jonathan (March 12, 2025). "Meta goes to arbitrator to prevent whistleblower from promoting tell-all book". CNBC. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  11. ^ Hiltzik, Michael (March 23, 2025). "Inside the book Zuckerberg is trying to suppress". The Los Angeles Times. pp. A002. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  12. ^ Lapowsky, Issie (March 12, 2025). "Meta's Response to Explosive Tell-All Is Ripped From a Familiar PR Playbook". Vanity Fair. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  13. ^ Eaton, Kit (March 17, 2025). "Meta's Efforts to Block a Muckraking Exposé Make 'Careless People' a Must-Read Book". Inc. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  14. ^ Zara, Christopher (March 13, 2025). "A Meta tell-all memoir is soaring on Amazon's best-sellers rankings after legal efforts to quash it". Fast Company. Archived from the original on March 14, 2025. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  15. ^ Creamer, Ella (March 20, 2025). "Meta exposé tops bestseller chart despite company's attempt to ban its promotion". The Guardian. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
  16. ^ a b Jeffries, Stuart (March 16, 2025). "Careless People: A Story of Where I Used to Work by Sarah Wynn-Williams review – a former disciple unfriends Facebook". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
  17. ^ Diya, Sabhanaz Rashid (March 26, 2025). "A former Meta employee reviews the new Facebook memoir". Rest of World. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  18. ^ Ortutay, Barbara (April 10, 2025). "Former Facebook executive testifies". Rapid City Journal. pp. A9. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  19. ^ Bradley, Faye (March 19, 2025). "Who is Meta whistle-blower Sarah Wynn-Williams, whose new book is causing a stir?". South China Morning Post. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  20. ^ Szalai, Jennifer (March 10, 2025). "Book Review: 'Careless People,' by Sarah Wynn-Williams". The New York Times. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  21. ^ Nix, Naomi (March 9, 2025). "Zuckerberg's Meta considered sharing user data with China, whistleblower alleges". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  22. ^ Nolan, Beatrice (March 11, 2025). "Former Meta says Mark Zuckerberg worked 'hand in glove' with Beijing". Fortune. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  23. ^ Ingram, David; Abou-Sabe, Kenzi (March 10, 2025). "Ex-Facebook employee alleges sexual harassment and human rights failures in new memoir". NBC News. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  24. ^ Rissman, Kelly (March 10, 2025). "Ex-Facebook worker claims she was fired after she reported sexual harassment". The Independent. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  25. ^ Whitworth, Ava. "Kiwi former exec exposes Meta in 'explosive' tell-all memoir". Stuff. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sarah_Wynn-Williams&oldid=1293297611"