Ex-Facebook employee sues Meta for $3million claiming he was fired for whistleblowing

A former Facebook employee is accusing Meta Platforms of ‘whistleblower retaliation,’ claiming he was unlawfully fired in 2019 after raising concerns over a ‘new protocol.’

Brennan Lawson filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, claiming he was terminated after questioning a ‘protocol’ that allowed him and his team to retrieve deleted messages in Messenger.

A Meta spokesperson told DailyMail.com: ‘These claims are without merit and we will defend ourselves against them vigorously.’ 

Lawson, who allegedly worked as a Senior Risk & Response Escalations, said ‘a Facebook manager introduced a new tool to the Escalations team’ in late 2018,’ according to the lawsuit seen by DailyMail.com.

‘The protocol was presented by Ashley McHugh, who built the back-end protocol that the team would start utilizing to access deleted user data.’

The document explains that one example of use was to provide law enforcement with deleted messages of specific users.

‘Law enforcement would ask questions about the suspect’s use of the platform, such as who the suspect was messaging, when messages were sent, and even what those messages contained,’ reads the suit.

‘To keep Facebook in the good graces of the government, the Escalations Team would utilize the back-end protocol to provide answers for the law enforcement agency and then determine how much to share.’

Lawson, who is also a veteran of the US Air Force, filed the lawsuit on Tuesday in California that states he is suing Meta Platforms Inc. for more than $3 million in compensation plus punitive damages.

Lawson, who is also a veteran of the US Air Force, filed the lawsuit on Tuesday in California that states he is suing Meta Platforms Inc. for more than $3 million in compensation plus punitive damages

The document continues to explain that one example of use was to provide law enforcement with deleted messages of specific users

DailyMail.com has reached out to Lawson and has yet to receive a response.

The alleged tool, which ‘went live approximately November or December 2018,’ was a workaround to avoid rules put in place to block Facebook employees from accessing deleted messages.

Lawson claimed he and his team were able to access ‘anyone’s Messenger history, including children within Messenger for Kids,’ the suit reads.

Lawson allegedly became’ immediately concerned with the legality’ not only because its ability to access users’ deleted data, but it goes against the 2012 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Order that prohibited Facebook from misrepresenting its ability to control the privacy of its user’s personal information.

The issue, according to the suit, is that Facebook has repeatedly stated it is unable to access such data.

Lawson, who is also a veteran of the US Air Force, filed the lawsuit on Tuesday in California that states he is suing Meta Platforms Inc. for more than $3 million in compensation plus punitive damages

Following the meeting, Lawson realized he was on ‘shaky ground’ for raising his concerns and feared he would be fired if he continued to push his opinions.

He received a poor performance review that he said was not valid and was overcome with stress of potentially being terminated.

Lawson claims that on June 19, 2010 that he spent time in the hospital with severe abdominal pain and a fever over 100 degrees Fahrenheit due to the anxiety.

He was fired on July 10, 2019 for ‘alleged improper use of one of Facebook’s user admin tools a few months earlier.’

The suit sates Lawson was told it was because he did not use proper protocol when reinstating his grandmother’s account that had been hacked earlier in the year.

DailyMail.com has not independently confirmed the allegations.