Facebook accessed deleted user data, fired screener claims

The new protocol allowed members of the social network’s Global Escalation Team ‘to circumvent Facebook’s normal privacy protocols’ by retrieving data from the Messenger app “that users had chosen to delete”, according to Lawson’s complaint. — Reuters

A former Facebook content screener says he was fired for raising alarms about a new company protocol allowing employees to resurrect data that users deleted.

Brennan Lawson sued Meta Platforms Inc, Facebook’s parent, on July 5 in California claiming he was informed about the new protocol during a staff meeting in late 2018 and immediately questioned its legality. Soon after, he said he was fired and remained unemployed for 18 months. He’s seeking more than US$3mil (RM13.27mil) in compensation plus punitive damages.