Facebook secretly killed users batteries, worker claims in lawsuit - New York Post

Hayward worked on Facebook’s Messenger app, which allows users to send written messages or make phone or video calls — and is a crucial communication tool in many countries, he said.

Helayne SeidmanMessenger has 1.3 billion users worldwide, ranking it 4th among the most-used social media platform, according to the Digital 2021 Global Overview Report.

Killing someone’s cellphone battery puts people at risk, especially “in circumstances where they need to communicate with others, including but not limited to police or other rescue workers,” according to the litigation filed against Facebook’s parent company, Meta Platforms.

Meta Platforms, parent company of Facebook, allegedly fired a data scientist who didn’t want to participate in “negative testing.” REUTERS

He said he doesn’t know how many people have been impacted by Facebook’s negative testing but believes the company has engaged in the practice because he was given an internal training document titled, “How to run thoughtful negative tests,” which included examples of such experiments being carried out.

Most people likely have no idea Facebook or other social media companies are capable of draining down a cellphone battery intentionally, said Hayward’s lawyer, Dan Kaiser.