The editor of the Bookseller Philip Jones has described Facebook’s actions against Careless People author Sarah Wynn-Williams as “shameful and shaming, and a dangerous overreach”. This follows Facebook owner Meta’s stipulation ahead of the British Book Awards in London that organisers the Bookseller were required to blur images of the book’s cover because, in a hardening of the original order, Wynn-Williams is now unable to even be seen in the presence of her title.
Jones said: “There are some moments in my life I will always remember. One such is that of Sarah Wynn-Williams standing silent next to her editor from Pan Macmillan, Mike Harpley, as he spoke on her behalf at The British Book Awards.”
Harpley said: “Despite the CEO who publicly champions free speech, the company has sought to prevent her from promoting her vitally important book. She is prevented from saying anything critical of Meta, in public, or even in private to her family. These restrictions mean she must constantly police her own life, facing life-changing fines for any breach. In an Orwellian development, the company now argues she can’t even be in the vicinity of Careless People or its depiction, meaning her book’s cover cannot be displayed here tonight.”