A new scandal has arisen from the bowels of the social media giant Facebook, this time it involves an employee who bragged about access to private data. The new scandal follows just weeks after Facebook's Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg appeared before Congress to refute claims that the company is mishandling the data it collects and to shore up concerns about Russian bot accounts that sought to meddle with the U.S. election.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I’ve been made aware that a security engineer currently employed at Facebook is likely using privileged access to stalk women online. <br><br>I have Tinder logs. What should I do with this information?</p>— Jackie Stokes 🙋🏽 (@find_evil) <a href="https://twitter.com/find_evil/status/990800499447353345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 30, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I really, really hope I’m wrong about this. <a href="https://t.co/NDkOptx8Hv">pic.twitter.com/NDkOptx8Hv</a></p>— Jackie Stokes 🙋🏽 (@find_evil) <a href="https://twitter.com/find_evil/status/990803669837807616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 30, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Related coverage: <a href="http://thegoldwater.com/news/24809-Facebook-Launches-Dating-Service-Video">Facebook Launches Dating Service (Video)</a>
The scandal began when a Twitter user named Jackie Stokes posted screenshots of a conversation she says took place between another user and an employee of Facebook. Stokes said she verified the person was a Facebook security engineer and voiced her concerns the employee is "likely using privileged access to stalk women online".
Facebook took the matter very seriously and tracked down the security engineer who made the comments. Alex Stamos, Chief Security Officer at Facebook said, "We are investigating this as a matter of urgency. It’s important that people’s information is kept secure and private when they use Facebook. 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."
Jackie Stokes is a cybersecurity consultant who alleged she received copies of a text conversation on the dating app Tinder that revealed: "a security engineer currently employed at Facebook is likely using privileged access to stalk women online." Facebook promptly fired the engineer and it is unknown if they will face any legal or criminal action.
Related coverage: <a href="https://thegoldwater.com/news/22583-Facebook-COO-Sandberg-Privacy-To-Become-A-Paid-Product#22586">Facebook COO Sandberg: Privacy To Become “A Paid Product”</a>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I'd like to thank the many Facebook employees who reached out to me personally to find out what they could do to help, and especially their CSO <a href="https://twitter.com/alexstamos?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@alexstamos</a> for deft handling of a dicey issue during a time when words and actions matter more than ever.<a href="https://t.co/W8Joe2Bc6e">https://t.co/W8Joe2Bc6e</a></p>— Jackie Stokes 🙋🏽 (@find_evil) <a href="https://twitter.com/find_evil/status/991510783619198977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Stokes subsequently tweeted to Facebook CSO Alex Stamos, "I'd like to thank the many Facebook employees who reached out to me personally to find out what they could do to help, and especially their CSO Alex Stamos for deft handling of a dicey issue during a time when words and actions matter more than ever."
Upon learning of the employee's termination, Stokes said, "I am pleased an investigation was conducted and an appropriate action is taken to improve the trust users need to have in social media platforms to live their lives fully and enjoyable online. Everyone deserves to feel safe, even on the Internet." The bizarre scandal coincided with the release of Facebook's new dating service that has been integrated into the platform. The swift action on behalf of the company was no doubt an attempt to curb any further tensions with public trust and handling of private data.
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