A former Meta employee takes his former company to court for illegal practices. According to him, Facebook may drain the batteries of users’ smartphones as part of the tests.
33-year-old data scientist George Hayward was fired last November from Meta for refusing to participate in negative tests on Facebook and Messenger apps. He filed a lawsuit against his former company in Manhattan court. According to him, Meta can drain the batteries of its users’ smartphones without their knowledge for testing purposes.
Facebook would drain your battery to test its mobile app
Trusting in New York PostGeorge Hayward talks about the practice ofnegative testss” – allows digital companies to secretly drain a user’s battery to test certain functionalities or solve problems. This may be related to the speed of running an application or loading an image.
When asked to do so, the former employee told his manager that he could harm someone. she would have replied:By harming a few, we can help many.“. He had been hired in October 2019”for a six-figure positionsays the newspaper. While Hayward doesn’t know how many people were affected by the negative tests, he believes Meta is turning to the practice. She had received an internal training document titled: “How to run reflective negative tests“. A document that contains examples, but has not been disclosed.
A practice that can have serious consequences
For George Hayward, draining a smartphone’s battery can prevent its user from communicating, particularly with the police or emergency services, as he indicated in his complaint. In addition, we can think that it damages the batteries of the devices, since they must undergo more recharge cycles.
The lawsuit, which sought damages, was dismissed and Hayward had to go to arbitration. For his lawyer, the practice is illegal. As for Meta, the company has not ruled on the matter.
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