WhatsApp whistleblower sues Meta over termination

Sept. 9 (UPI) -- A former WhatsApp employee has filed a lawsuit that alleges he was fired by the Meta technology company for blowing the whistle on the app's security flaws.

Attaullah Baig on Monday filed a request for a jury trial in U.S. District Court's Northern District of California against Meta that includes CEO Mark Zuckerberg as a defendant.

According to the complaint, Baig, while serving as the Head of Security at WhatsApp, turned in several internal notations that pointed out cybersecurity issues that posed risks to user data that violated Meta's related obligations under federal law.

He claimed his notes pointed out that the platform wasn't being monitored at all times and was behind on key measures needed to properly restore stolen accounts.

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Baig then said that after all his internal attempts to get the security issues resolved weren't addressed, he decided to file a grievance with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission which documented Meta's cybersecurity insufficiencies and failure to warn its investors of those risks.

He also alleged that his internal disclosures were met with threats of termination, loss of benefits and pay, and also received negative performance feedback despite having received previous positive evaluations.

Baig said after several attempts by the company to dissuade him from his criticisms about cybersecurity, he was eventually fired in retaliatory fashion.

His lawsuit seeks that Meta rehire him and further put him at the seniority status he had earned, give him back pay and cover his legal costs plus compensation for damages.

WhatsApp removed nearly seven million accounts in August that Meta stated were connected to scammers globally.