ExMeta worker investigated for downloading private Facebook photos

pA former Meta employee suspected of downloading around 30000 private images of Facebook users is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police ppThe engineer who lives in London is believed to have designed a program to be able to access personal pictures on the site while avoiding security checksppA Meta spokesperson told the BBC the breach was discovered over a year ago after which the firm said it immediately fired the suspected employee and referred the matter to law enforcement ppA spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said a man in his 30s was arrested in November 2025 on suspicion of unauthorised access to computer materialppHe has since been released on bail and must next report to police in May according to the Press AssociationppThe incident is being investigated by officers from the Metropolitan Polices Cybercrime Unit after the force received a referral from the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the USppMeta added it had notified the Facebook users who had their images downloaded and had since upgraded its security systemsppThe breach is the latest security issue to emerge from the Facebook parent company ppIn November 2022 it was fined 265m 228m by the Irish Data Protection Commission DPC over a breach that saw the personal details of hundreds of millions of Facebook users published onlineppMeanwhile in September 2024 the DPC found Meta to have inadvertently stored certain passwords of social media users on its internal systems without encryption and fined it 91m 75mppThe company which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp has also faced recent legal battles over the addictive design of its apps ppIn March jurors in California found both Meta and the owner of YouTube Google had intentionally built addictive social media platforms that harmed the mental health of a young womanppThe woman known as Kaley was awarded 6m 45m in damages ppMeta and Google said they disagreed with the verdict and intended to appealppSign up for our Tech Decoded newsletter to follow the worlds top tech stories and trends Outside the UK Sign up hereppCrumble and custard was flung at the Crown Jewels display case and manure was poured on the floor of hotel in December 2025ppIt comes as a man attempts to ignite a plastic bag containing containing fluid in northwest LondonppNearby Kensington Gardens was closed on Friday and specialist emergency services units were deployed to the siteppFour Hatzola ambulances were set alight in the car park of a synagogue in Golders Green on 23 MarchppIt comes after a group claimed to have targeted the Israeli Embassy in an online video postppCopyright 2026 BBC All rights reserved The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites Read about our approach to external linkingpp p