Facebook whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams was compelled to remain silent on stage at the Hay Festival after her lawyers advised her not to speak due to ongoing legal proceedings initiated by Meta.

Wynn-Williams, author of the bestselling memoir Careless People, which recounts her years working at Facebook, had been scheduled to take part in a conversation with investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr and academic Tim Wu.

However, instead of participating, she sat silently on stage throughout the hour-long session, while Cadwalladr and Wu continued the discussion.

She was reportedly not allowed to speak, nor could she even gesture by nodding or shaking her head.

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 was given a standing ovation by the audience and was visibly moved to tears.

Wynn-Williams, a former Facebook executive, has come under increasing legal restrictions since the publication last year of Careless People, a memoir that alleges issues within Meta’s internal culture and decision-making.

The book includes claims about political influence, the company’s engagement with China, and concerns over the wellbeing of its child users.

Meta has rejected the allegations.
Speaking at the event, Hay’s programme director Helen Bagnall described the moment as “an important act of solidarity for the silenced.”

Ahead of publication, Meta obtained an emergency court order restricting Wynn-Williams from publicly discussing aspects of the book. She reportedly faces fines of $50,000 (£37,000) for each breach of the order, with the mounting legal and financial pressure said to have placed her at risk of bankruptcy.