'Come to bed' request, China link: Ex-Meta employee's explosive claims in memoir

From allegations of misconduct, claims of sexual harassment, to working "hand-in-glove" with the Chinese government - a former Meta executive-turned-whistleblower's tell-all in her memoir about her six-year tenure has sparked a storm in the social media giant. In her book, 'Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism', Sarah Wynn Williams speaks at length on the conduct of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and former COO Sheryl Sandberg.

Williams, who was fired from Meta in 2017, claimed that under Zuckerberg and Sandberg, Facebook's culture turned rotten, and the two executives turned a blind eye to "shocking accounts of misogyny and double standards", according to a review of the book by the New York Times.

Meta has, however, denied all the claims, dubbing them "false accusations" by an "activist".

In her book, Williams shared that she was herself a victim of sexual harassment by her boss, Joel Kaplan, who at the time was a vice president for global public policy. She claimed that after she lodged a complaint, she faced retaliation from the company. Meta said an investigation cleared Kaplan of the charges in 2017. He is now the chief global affairs officer.

ON SHERYL SANDBERG

The book also makes shocking claims about how Sheryl Sandberg crossed professional boundaries. Williams, who was pregnant at that time, said Sandberg repeatedly insisted her to "share a bed" on a private jet during their flight from Davos to California in January 2016. However, Williams rejected her request and it rankled the then Facebook COO.

"You should have got into bed," the book mentions Sandberg as telling Williams. Williams stressed that she felt marginalised after the incident.

She also claimed that Sandberg tasked her with drafting "talking points" for her boss while she was in labour.

Sandberg, the company's No. 2 executive then, also allegedly spent USD 13,000 (over Rs 11,35,000) on lingerie for herself and her assistant, Sadie, during a trip to Europe, the book mentions. Williams also claimed that they stroked each other's hair and took turns sleeping in each other's laps during a drive in Europe.

ON MARK ZUCKERBERG AND CHINA

In another explosive claim, Williams alleged that Mark Zuckerberg worked "hand-in-glove" with China and considered sharing user data with Beijing, the BBC reported. Calling Zuckerberg a "careless executive", Sandberg alleged that Facebook went to extreme lengths to gain access to the Chinese market.

The book claims that Zuckerberg even considered agreeing to "hiding" viral posts until approved by the Chinese authorities.

Meta, responding to the claims, told the BBC that it was "no secret" that it was once interested in operating services in China. "We opted not to go through with the ideas we'd explored," a statement said.

Williams also claimed that Zuckerberg did not get up before midday, and hated being beaten at board games. "I didn't realise that you were supposed to let him win. I was a little naive," Williams said in her book.