Meta legal action forces Facebook whistleblower to sit in silence
Sarah Wynn-Williams did not speak during event after lawyers warned of possible sanctions from tech firm
Facebook whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams was forced to sit in silence on stage at an event at Hay festival , after lawyers advised her not to speak because of ongoing legal action brought by Meta.
Wynn-Williams, whose bestselling memoir, Careless People, details her years working at Facebook , was due to appear in conversation with the investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr and academic Tim Wu.
Instead, Wynn-Williams sat on stage for the duration of the hour-long discussion between Cadwalladr and Wu, without speaking or responding. She was unable even to nod or shake her head.
Introducing the panel, Cadwalladr said: “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.”
At the end of the event, Wynn-Williams received a standing ovation from the audience, during which she was moved to tears.