A federal magistrate judge last month dismissed a wrongful termination lawsuit brought by WhatsApp’s former head of security, citing a lack of evidence supporting claims that he was fired in retaliation for reporting security flaws to regulators.
Attaullah Baig had filed the lawsuit in September, in which he claimed that thousands of WhatsApp and Meta employees could gain access to sensitive user data including profile pictures, location, group memberships and contact lists. Meta, which owns WhatsApp, also failed to adequately address the hacking of more than 100,000 accounts each day and rejected his proposals for security fixes, according to the lawsuit.
After his concerns were ignored internally, Mr. Baig reported the problems to the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to the lawsuit. Executives then retaliated by firing him, the lawsuit said.
Laurel Beeler, a magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court of Northern California, granted Meta’s motion to dismiss the case over a lack of evidence proving those attempts.
Mr. Baig didn’t back many of his allegations with “sufficient facts to show that the plaintiff reported violations of S.E.C. rules or regulations,” she wrote in her March 19 order.
Mr. Baig, through the whistle-blower organization Psst.org, which supported his lawsuit, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
“This ruling reaffirms what we’ve said all along: These claims have no merit,” said Andy Stone, a spokesman for Meta. “We’re proud of our strong record of protecting people’s privacy and security, and will continue building on it.” A string of whistle-blowers has come forward in recent years accusing Meta — which also owns Facebook and Instagram — of wrongdoing related to privacy, child safety and the spread of disinformation on its main platforms.
Cecilia Kang reports on technology and regulatory policy for The Times from Washington. She has written about technology for over two decades.
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