WASHINGTON: Facebook spokesperson on Thursday said that they fired an employee accused of bragging about his access to private user information over matchmaking app Tinder.
The incident comes as Facebook faces global concerns about personal data privacy, including Congressional hearings at which Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg testified.
A Twitter user earlier on Wednesday posted about the Tinder conversation along with screenshots, saying Facebook’s security engineer is “likely using privileged access to stalk women online”.
In the unverified screenshot, the employee in question writes of being a “professional stalker” searching for hackers.
In a statement, Facebook’s Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos said the company quickly investigated the situation and immediately fired the person.
“We are investigating this as a matter of urgency,” Alex Stamos, Chief Security Officer at Facebook, said in a statement to a leading daily.
“It’s important
that people’s information is kept secure and private when they use Facebook,” he said. “It’s why we have strict policy controls and technical restrictions so employees only access the data they need to do their jobs – for example to fix bugs, manage customer support issues or respond to valid legal requests. Employees who abuse these controls will be fired.”
The claim surfaced in a tweet Sunday by Jackie Stokes, a cybersecurity consultant, who alleged she received copies of a text conversation on the dating app Tinder that showed
“A security engineer currently employed at Facebook is likely using privileged access to stalk women online.”
Access to sensitive data is logged, and the company has automated systems designed to detect and prevent abuse, Stamos said.
“Employees who abuse these controls will be fired — period.”
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