A former Meta employee, Riley Berton, has claimed that he was fired for sharing a company update with his wife, even though the information was already publicly available. His termination has sparked discussions about Meta’s strict internal policies and whether the company is being too aggressive in controlling information leaks.
Why Was Riley Berton Fired?
Berton, who worked as a Staff Software Engineer at Meta, explained in a viral LinkedIn post that his dismissal stemmed from sharing part of an internal post by CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Workplace, Meta’s internal platform.
Riley Berton, a Staff Engineer at Meta, was fired for copy-pasting text from an internal tool to WhatsApp on his work computer.
He was terminated A DAY BEFORE he was set to receive a large bonus for high performance.
He has ample evidence that he wasn’t the “leaker” of a…
— Steve Huynh (@ALEngineered) March 16, 2025
The post, dated January 14, discussed Meta’s crackdown on underperforming employees and the company’s plan to tighten performance reviews. However, by the time Berton shared the post with his wife, the same information had already been leaked and reported by Business Insider and The Verge.
Meta terminated his employment despite this, considering his actions a violation of company policy.
“It is important to note that this information had been leaked to Business Insider and The Verge by someone (not me),” Berton wrote in his LinkedIn post.
He further clarified that he did not leak the post to the media but simply forwarded it to his wife.
Was the Firing Justified?
Berton questioned the logic behind his termination, pointing out that if his wife had simply read the post over his shoulder or taken a photo of his screen, he wouldn’t have been fired.
“If I took my laptop to a reporter and let them take a photo of the post, I would not be writing this,” he stated, suggesting that Meta’s policy enforcement was inconsistent.
His frustration was further fueled by the timing of his dismissal. He revealed that his termination happened one day before he was supposed to receive a performance-based bonus.
“I had just received an ‘Exceeds Expectations’ rating for the prior year. Coincidentally, my termination date is the day before I was to receive a bonus for my outstanding performance,” Berton noted.
He also pointed out that Meta took months to act on his so-called violation.
“The violation took place on Jan 14th, the firing happened yesterday so it took a few months for it to happen,” he wrote.
Other Employees Also Fired for Similar Reasons
Berton claimed that he was not the only one who faced such treatment. He alleged that hundreds of Meta employees had been dismissed under similar circumstances.
“I am also hearing stories of people who copied 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,” he claimed.
His statement suggests that Meta has tightened its policies on information sharing, even when employees are not leaking details to the media.
Meta’s Stance on Information Leaks
Meta has not publicly responded to Berton’s claims, but the company has previously defended its strict policies on internal information security.
A Meta spokesperson, Dave Arnold, 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.”
Just two weeks ago, reports emerged that Meta had terminated around 20 employees for sharing confidential information outside the company.
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What’s Next for Berton?
Berton is now searching for new job opportunities. He ended his LinkedIn post with a message for his former colleagues:
“To those who avoided this witch hunt, I will miss you and I hope you create amazing products.”
His case raises important questions about how strict companies should be when enforcing information policies. Should employees be fired for sharing work updates with their spouses? Or is Meta being too aggressive in protecting internal data?
For now, Meta remains firm in its policies, and Berton is just one of many employees caught in the crossfire.
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