Meta continues to be sued
Meta (parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) once again faces legal turmoil after former security director WhatsApp attaullah Baig filed a lawsuit, accusing the corporation of ignoring serious vulnerabilities in privacy and security, according to IndianExpress.
In the lawsuit filed in the Northern District Court of California, Baig said that thousands of Facebook and Facebook employees can access users' sensitive data, from contact photos, locations, Facebook accounts to chat group members.
He also affirmed that more than 100,000 accounts are hacked every day, but his warnings and remedial proposals have been ignored by the leadership.
Baig stressed that he had directly warned CEO Mark Zuckerberg about security risks but was rewarded and sacked in February.
He accused Meta of violating a $5.5 billion privacy agreement signed with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2019, as well as concealing risks to shareholders, violating securities laws.
User is facing too many harmful effects. This lawsuit is aimed at holding Meta accountable and putting the interests of users first, Baig shared.
Meta denies allegations
Carl Woog, a Facebook spokesperson, said it was just a familiar scenario where a former employee was fired for poor performance and then made false statements. Mr. Carl Woog affirmed that Meta has a solid record in protecting user privacy.
Baig's lawsuit extends a series of scandals related to internal denunciations against Meta. Previously, in October 2021, Frances Haugen, a former Facebook employee, testified before the US Congress that the company's products were harmful to adolescents, and published thousands of internal documents.
Recently, 6 former Meta employees also used the Whistleblower Aid organization to denounce the company's virtual reality platforms for the potential risk of child abuse. Meta responded that these allegations are meaningless and based on selective leaked documents.
Meta previously had to pay a fine of US$5 billion in 2019 for the Cambridge Analytica scandal, and pledged to tighten its security policy.
Zuckerberg himself had affirmed that privacy would become a top priority in the company's future vision. However, consecutive denunciations are raising doubts about this commitment.
attaullah Baig joined WhatsApp in early 2021 and has been conducting a red-teaming, a mock-up exercise of hackers attacking services.
According to the lawsuit, about 1,500 Google employees at that time had unlimited access to sensitive data, which goes against the FTC's agreement.
For more than a year, Baig has repeatedly suggested tightening control, but Baig has only been asked to focus on less important tasks.
Facebook currently has about 3 billion users worldwide, famous for its message encryption feature. However, Meta's recent testing of in-app advertising and data sharing has led many to doubt that the security philosophy is the foundation for Facebook's success.
With the latest lawsuit, Meta is not only facing legal pressure but also having to convince users that a commitment to security and privacy is truly a top priority.
