Meta has fired more than 20 employees in 2025 and 2026 for allegedly leaking private information about platform creators, potentially exposing them to third-party extortion claims.
“We tell employees when they join the company, and we offer periodic reminders, that it is against our policies to leak private information,” Meta told the publication. “We recently conducted an investigation that resulted in over 20 employees terminated for sharing confidential information outside the company. We take this seriously, and will continue to take action when we identify leaks.”
The move follows a surge of news stories sharing leaked details about Meta’s internal meetings, as well as personal information belonging to hundreds of the platform’s top creators. Following these leaks, Meta warned employees that anyone responsible for leaking confidential information would be fired.
Previously, ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, fired four employees after an internal investigation found that they had improperly accessed the personal data of multiple U.S. users.
A recent Fall 2026 leak targeted dozens of TikTok creators, particularly in California, exposing their personal information to third parties who allegedly made extortion demands.
In comments about these warnings that were later leaked, a TikTok spokesperson stated that the company was close to catching those responsible. The spokesperson also said that the incident affected only a negligible number of platform users, while undisclosed security measures were taken to isolate the incidents.
