London – A former Meta engineer faces a police investigation for allegedly downloading approximately 30,000 private Facebook images using a custom program designed to bypass internal security safeguards, court documents reveal.
Allegations of Security Breach and Internal Exploitation
The engineer, who resides in London, reportedly developed software that accessed sensitive user data while evading Meta’s security protocols. This breach was uncovered over a year ago, prompting immediate action from Meta’s security team.
Police and Meta Response
The Metropolitan Police’s cybercrime unit has assigned a specialist detective to lead the investigation. Meta confirmed it referred the case to law enforcement and terminated the employee upon discovery. Affected users were promptly informed, and Meta has since enhanced its security infrastructure to prevent similar incidents.
The individual remains on bail as the investigation continues. Recently, Highbury Magistrates’ Court approved a request to modify his bail conditions.
Meta’s official statement emphasized, “Protecting user data is our top priority. After uncovering unauthorized access by an employee, we immediately dismissed the individual, notified impacted users, escalated the matter to authorities, and strengthened our security measures. We are fully cooperating with the ongoing investigation.”
Context: Meta and Google Face Legal Challenges Over Social Media Harm
In a related development highlighting social media accountability, Meta and Google suffered a landmark legal defeat in the US last month. A Los Angeles jury held Instagram (owned by Meta) and YouTube (owned by Google) liable for contributing to a 20-year-old woman’s social media addiction, awarding her $6 million in damages.
Both companies have publicly disagreed with the verdict and announced plans to appeal. Legal experts view this ruling as a precedent likely to influence numerous future cases targeting social media platforms over addictive algorithm designs.
