Careless People

The founder and top leader of Facebook, later Meta, Zuckerberg is the architect of Facebook’s transformation from a social platform, with potential for popular empowerment, to one consumed with economic growth and power at any cost. In her role at Facebook, Wynn-Williams came to know Zuckerberg well. She notes that he initially had no interest in politics and was focused solely on technology and engineering. Indeed, he was unwilling to meet with political leaders, such as the prime minister of New Zealand, and treated them rudely. Later, he became aware of the need for political alliances to facilitate Facebook’s growth. Additionally, he became addicted to the power and adulation from politics. She cites his reaction to the public mob in Indonesia, as he considered such lavish praise and public outpouring for the president-elect there to be impressive.

Having gained enormous wealth from Facebook, Zuckerberg, per Wynn-Williams, lived in somewhat of a bubble divorced from the realities of life that most people experience. He refused to meet with world leaders in the morning, insisting that presidents of other countries conform to his schedule. Even then, he was often late for such meetings. This caused poor relations in many instances, such as with the president of Colombia. He traveled on a private plane and stayed in luxurious compounds. Those around him did not challenge him, even letting him win board games. Zuckerberg did not care about the effects of his decisions on people’s lives or politics; he simply pursued growth at any cost. When one of his employees was arrested because WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, refused to turn over posts in a Brazilian drug case, he expressed no concern for that employee and cared only for public relations.

Zuckerberg was even willing to mislead the US Congress about Facebook’s relationship with China. Wynn-Williams holds Zuckerberg primarily responsible for the dystopian effects that Facebook has had in Myanmar, China, the US, and other places. She emphasizes that a different path could have been taken, but Zuckerberg always made the decision to increase revenue. He chose the path of corporate greed with a disregard for its effects.

Sandberg was in the top leadership at Facebook and was in charge of public relations and policy. She is one of the careless people for whom the book is named. Through Sandberg’s actions, Wynn-Williams exposes corporate greed and disregard for its consequences. Wynn-Williams tells about Sandberg’s meeting with the Irish prime minister during which Wynn-Williams was instructed to stop taking notes, as they were subject to a subpoena. Wynn-Williams watched while Sandberg entered into a deal to save Facebook from paying taxes for five years and protected it from regulation. When it became clear that several countries wanted to regulate Facebook and require it to pay taxes, Sandberg encouraged a transformation in strategy. Facebook would make politicians reliant on its platform for their power, which in turn would cause them not to hurt Facebook’s economic interests.

Relying on her interactions with Sandberg, Wynn-Williams describes her as a hypocrite without professional boundaries. In doing so, the author highlights gender and power dynamics at high-tech industries. Although Sandberg authored Lean In, which is allegedly a feminist work, she made no accommodations for working mothers at Facebook. Indeed, she required Wynn-Williams to accompany her to Davos, Switzerland, late in the author’s pregnancy and required her to send an email while she was about to deliver her baby. On the private plane back from Davos, Sandberg invited Wynn-Williams to bed with her. When Wynn-Williams declined, something broke in their relationship. Sandberg no longer rewarded Wynn-Williams at work.

What is more, Sandberg used Facebook resources, including employees, to promote her book. Wynn-Williams notes the irony of this feminist author not caring about the women’s march at the time of Trump’s first inauguration. Sandberg cared more about Melania Trump’s outfit.

When Marne Levine left Facebook to become chief operating officer for Instagram, Kaplan took over as vice president of global public policy and became Wynn-Williams’s immediate boss. A Republican operative, Kaplan had little interest in or knowledge about politics outside the US. Lacking a desire to engage in foreign diplomacy, Kaplan aspired to make this department profitable and no longer a cost center. To that end, he encouraged the transformation of the power balance between world leaders and Facebook. He worked to get politicians to advertise on Facebook and therefore become dependent on it for their power. Wynn-Williams exposes his ignorance by noting that he was unaware of laws prohibiting foreign dollars in political campaigns. Concerned only with boosting revenue, Kaplan had a complete disregard for The Influence of Technology on Politics and People’s Lives. He was one of the few employees who was happy that Trump won in 2016.

Wynn-Williams alleges that Kaplan assaulted and harassed her while she worked under him. In so doing, she highlights Gender and Power Dynamics in High-Tech Industries. He made several inappropriate comments, such as asking about the source of her blood loss after she almost died in childbirth. Additionally, he gave her a performance review for her maternity leave, which is not legal. When Wynn-Williams alerted the attorneys at Facebook, Schrage told her that the problem would go away if she withdrew the complaint. If it didn’t work out, he clearly stated that she would have to leave. Not only did the harassment continue, but Kaplan punished Wynn-Williams by reducing the scope of her job and refusing to approve her hires. When he grinded into her at a work function, Wynn-Williams again filed a complaint. Schrage then fired her for allegedly not expanding her team fast enough. She noted that Kaplan prevented that, but it did not matter. She was escorted from the premises.

Levine’s and later Kaplan’s boss, Schrage ran communication and public affairs at Facebook. Describing him as charming with a “steely side” (36), Wynn-Williams notes that she interacted with him on a daily basis. It was Schrage who explained to Zuckerberg about Facebook’s impact on the 2016 US Presidential election. While not the architect of Facebook’s reliance on political advertising, Schrage implemented and supported such decisions. Wynn-Williams’s concerns about the potential effects did not move him.

Schrage is demonstrative of Gender and Power Dynamics in High-Tech Industries. When Wynn-Williams reported Kaplan’s harassment to him, he did not act appropriately. In fact, he told her that she would have to leave the company if the situation with Kaplan did not work out. Later, when the harassment got worse, he blocked her transfer to another department. He then fired her, claiming that she did not expand her team fast enough even though he knew that Kaplan prevented that.

Wynn-Williams’s husband, Tom, is a journalist. He often grasped how Facebook took advantage of her and its employees. When a pregnant Wynn-Williams was in Myanmar and out of contact, he was terrified. Later, he told Wynn-Williams that she was exhibiting signs of Stockholm syndrome. In other words, she regarded her “‘captors,’ Sheryl [Sandberg], Elliot [Shrage], and Marne [Levine], with trust and affection they d[id]n’t deserve” (117). At that time, Facebook wanted to send her to South Korea ahead of Zuckerberg to ensure that he would not be arrested. She, who was breastfeeding a baby, was “the body” that would be arrested if things went wrong (116). Although she convinced Facebook not to send her at that time, Sandberg and others continued to take advantage of her. Through Tom’s eyes, Wynn-Williams began to see the true nature of Facebook’s leadership team.

Wynn-Williams initially made her pitch for a job at Facebook to Levine, who was vice president of global public policy at the time. Levine exhibited no interest in Wynn-Williams’s idealism about Facebook’s potential to change the world for the better. When Wynn-Williams explained the potential for foreign governments to slow Facebook’s growth with regulations, Levine listened but declined to hire her at first. Later, she called Wynn-Williams to ask if Zuckerberg should take credit for the Arab Spring. She then decided to create a position for Wynn-Williams. With Levine as her immediate boss, Wynn-Williams felt that inroads were being made with foreign diplomacy. Additionally, Levine led the initiative that resulted in the creation of community standards for Facebook posts. These standards gave objective guidance about what posts needed be taken down. After Levine left for a position at Instagram, Zuckerberg would ignore these standards when it was in Facebook’s financial interest.