Former Meta Engineer Investigated for Allegedly Downloading 30,000 Private Facebook Photos

A former Meta engineer faces a criminal investigation in London for allegedly downloading approximately 30,000 private photographs from Facebook users. The Metropolitan Police arrested a man in his 30s in November 2025 on suspicion of unauthorized computer access. According to court documents, the engineer reportedly created software to circumvent Meta's internal security systems while employed by the company. Meta identified the suspected breach over a year ago, terminated the employee, notified affected users, and referred the case to law enforcement. The company states it has since enhanced its security measures and is cooperating with the ongoing investigation. The former employee was released on bail and must report back to police in May. This incident follows recent reports that contractors in Nairobi, Kenya, employed by Sama, have reviewed intimate footage recorded by Meta's AI smart glasses for data annotation. Swedish newspapers Svenska Dagbladet and Göteborgs-Posten reported that contractors viewed highly personal material, including people undressing or using toilets, while labeling images to train Meta's AI systems.