Meta

A formerMetaemployee claims he was fired for sharing already-public company information with his wife, just one day before he was set to receive a performance bonus. Riley Berton, previously a Staff Software Engineer at Meta, described the termination as “incredibly sad and terrible and so very very silly” in a viral LinkedIn post that has sparked discussions about workplace privacy and information sharing policies.
“I got fired yesterday for the first time in my life,” Berton wrote. “Coincidentally, my termination date is the day before I was to receive a bonus for my outstanding performance.”

Information was already public when shared, says the fired Meta engineer

According to Berton, he shared portions of an internal post from CEOMark Zuckerbergabout tougher performance reviews with his spouse on January 14th. By that time, the information had already been leaked to and published by both Business Insider and The Verge.
“The timestamp on the BI post is right about the time I sent this post to my spouse so I can’t have been the ‘leaker’ or harmed the company in any way,” Berton explained. “If she had read the post over my shoulder or if she took a photo of the post with her cellphone, I would not be writing this.”

Claims of “Witch Hunt” Affecting Hundreds

Berton alleges that his situation isn’t unique, claiming that “hundreds” of Meta colleagues have faced similar terminations for sharing work-related information with their partners. His claims come amid Meta’s broader crackdown on leaks, with the company recently firing approximately 20 employees for sharing confidential information outside the company.
“I am also hearing stories of people who copy and pasted the text of this post into their own Notes apps on their own laptops and were fired for it because Apple Notes syncs to iCloud,” Berton wrote, calling the situation a “witch hunt.”
Meta spokesperson Dave Arnold previously told The Verge: “We provide regular reminders that leaking internal information, regardless of the intention, goes against our policies… We take this matter seriously and will continue to take action as we identify leaks.” The company has also stated that they “expect there will be more” firings following recent investigations.
As Berton now searches for new employment opportunities, his case highlights ongoing tensions aroundworkplace privacy policiesand the boundaries between professional and personal communications at major tech companies.