There is always one book every summer that everyone in tech claims to be talking about. This year, that book is Careless People: Power. Greed. Madness by former Meta employee Sarah Wynn-Williams.
Whether it ultimately proves to be the definitive insider account of Meta’s rise remains to be seen. But it is already becoming one of the most controversial books ever written about Big Tech – and the reaction to it may be just as revealing as its contents.
As governments in Australia, the UK, Canada and elsewhere begin asking increasingly difficult questions about the power of social media platforms, Wynn-Williams’ account lands at an interesting moment.
It appears to offer an individual’s perspective on a deceptively simple question: what did it actually take to build one of the great tech category leaders?
The strangest book launch in years
The Hay Festival is hardly known for corporate intrigue.
Normally it’s a picturesque gathering where authors sit on stage discussing literature, journalists moderate thoughtful conversations and publishers quietly promote their latest titles.
This year was different. Sarah Wynn-Williams sat on stage in silence.
Unable to discuss her own book while lawyers closely monitored proceedings, the audience watched what may have been the most surreal literary event of the year. Even her lawyer reportedly avoided discussing the substance of the allegations or commenting on legal restrictions surrounding the book during subsequent media interviews
Ironically, Meta has reportedly argued in later US court filings that this very silence generated additional publicity and helped propel the book onto bestseller lists.
Perhaps the former public affairs executive accidentally delivered one of the most effective PR campaigns of the year. Nothing creates curiosity quite like someone apparently trying very hard to stop a story being told – the Streisand effect in action.
An insider’s account
As you might have worked out by now Wynn-Williams is no casual observer.
She spent years working inside Facebook, eventually becoming Director of Global Public Policy. Her account therefore carries the authority – and the limitations – of an insider telling her version of events after leaving the company.
Readers should remember that Wynn-Williams’ is one perspective. Like many whistleblower accounts, it deserves both careful attention and healthy scepticism.
One additional consideration is that Wynn-Williams is married to the news editor of the Financial Times. That relationship doesn’t invalidate her account, but it is relevant context readers may reasonably wish to consider when assessing the public discussion surrounding the book.
Growth at what cost?
One of the book’s recurring themes is Meta’s relentless pursuit of growth.
The acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp have long attracted scrutiny from competition regulators. Critics argue these purchases removed emerging competitors before they could seriously challenge Facebook’s dominance.
Whether that was the intention remains the subject of ongoing legal and regulatory debate. The acquisitions were approved at the time, but today they sit at the heart of antitrust cases seeking to redefine how governments should regulate digital monopolies.
The book inevitably raises the question: did Big Tech simply become too big?
The power of founder control
Perhaps even more striking is the picture painted of Meta’s governance.
Mark Zuckerberg’s voting control has long given him extraordinary authority over the company’s direction. Founder-led companies often argue this enables long-term thinking free from quarterly market pressures.
Critics argue concentrated power carries its own risks. Yet the old Facebook mantra of “move fast and break things” undoubtedly helped build one of the world’s most valuable companies.
The more uncomfortable question is what happens when the things being broken are no longer software, but potentially trust, democratic institutions or public discourse.
Politics enters the platform
Among the book’s more widely discussed claims are descriptions of Facebook’s relationship with political campaigns.
Wynn-Williams writes that Facebook employees worked alongside Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, embedding staff with campaign teams to optimise digital advertising.
She quotes senior executive Andrew “Boz” Bosworth as describing it as: “The single best digital ad campaign I’ve ever seen from an advertiser. Period.”
The broader issue is less about one political campaign than the unprecedented influence technology platforms potentially possess in shaping modern elections.
Whether platforms are neutral tools or active participants remains a debate governments around the world are only beginning to address.
China: the line that couldn’t be crossed?
Maybe the book’s most explosive allegations concern Facebook’s reported efforts to enter the Chinese market.
Wynn-Williams describes internal disagreements over potential cooperation with Chinese authorities and claims she was ultimately required to take responsibility for China policy despite her reservations.
She writes: “The ugly fact is that… many of the things Facebook has said are simply impossible when Congress and its own government have asked – on content, data sharing, privacy, censorship and encryption – and yet its leadership are handing them all to China on a silver platter.”
Meta has disputed many of the allegations made in the book.
Regardless of where the truth ultimately lies, the allegations reinforce a broader question confronting every global technology company, just as it did multi-nationals in the past: how far should businesses compromise their stated values in pursuit of access to the world’s largest markets?
Hubris – or conscience?
Every whistleblower story eventually becomes a question of motive.
Was Sarah Wynn-Williams a disgruntled former executive settling scores? Or someone who wrestled with difficult ethical questions before deciding the public interest outweighed personal cost?
People will reach different conclusions. What cannot be ignored is that speaking publicly against one of the world’s largest companies carries significant personal, financial and legal consequences.
Readers should judge the evidence – not simply the individual presenting it.
What should we take away?
The content of the book does pose several key questions, not just about Meta but about the current structure and influence of big tech and those that have successfully dominated categories that have a profound influence on our daily lives and the nature of power and accountability:
- How much weight should readers place on an insider account written after leaving the company
- Do Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp strengthen modern antitrust arguments?
- Does concentrated founder control remain an advantage – or does it create insufficient accountability?
- Where should democratic governments draw the line between innovation and regulation?
- And perhaps most importantly: who decides the rules for the digital public square?
Holiday reading with relevance
If you’re posting holiday photos on Instagram, chatting with family on WhatsApp or scrolling through Facebook on the beach this summer, Careless People offers a reminder that these platforms didn’t simply happen.
They were built through thousands of decisions made by a relatively small number of people – decisions that continue to shape politics, privacy, free expression and global commerce.
Whether Sarah Wynn-Williams has written the definitive account of Meta or merely one side of a much larger story is for readers to decide.
Either way, it’s likely to be one of the year’s most compelling, consequential – and contested – books.