Facebook* believes that by harming a few users, you can help the majority
A former employee of Meta* Corporation, who participated in the development of the social network Facebook*, made a scandalous statement. He claims that the Facebook and Messenger apps may intentionally drain their users’ smartphone batteries.
A process called “negative testing” allows companies to covertly overcharge phone batteries for testing purposes.
George Hayward stated that he refused to carry out such tests. He remarked, “I told the manager, ‘This could hurt someone.’ According to Hayward, his boss replied that by harming a few users, you can help the majority. However, according to Hayward, any worthy data scientist should abide by the principle: “Do not harm people.”
Shortly thereafter, Hayward was fired. He responded by filing a lawsuit against the company in Manhattan Federal Court. The main reason for the lawsuit is that Facebook users may not be able to access their phones when they need it most.
Lawyer Dan Kaiser stressed that the battery drain of users’ smartphones is a danger to them. He added: “It’s illegal and outrageous that someone can manipulate my phone’s battery.”
* The social networks Instagram and Facebook belong to Meta, which is recognized as extremist in Russia and banned.
