A former data scientist at Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has made a shocking accusation in a recently withdrawn lawsuit. George Hayward, who worked at the company, claims that Meta's apps were purposely designed to drain the battery of smartphones for the purpose of negative testing.
The negative testing practice involves running down the battery in a smartphone to test how the apps and features would perform in low-battery scenarios. Hayward stated that he raised concerns about the potential harm this could cause, but his manager dismissed his concerns, saying that by harming a few, the company could help the masses.
Hayward further alleges that he was fired for refusing to participate in the negative testing due to the potential risk of draining someone's battery at a crucial moment, such as during a 911 call or a crash detection. He also claims that internal documents he viewed confirmed the company's engagement in the practice.
While the claims made by Hayward are significant, it is important to note that the lawsuit was withdrawn due to a requirement for arbitration. However, Hayward stands by his allegations and stated that he believes the company engaged in the practice of draining batteries for testing purposes.
Although it is not uncommon for tech companies to test app performance under low battery conditions, it would be surprising if such testing was being conducted on users' apps without their knowledge. Typically, this type of testing would be performed on internal versions of apps used for testing purposes, not on the production apps that are released to users.
It is not the first time Meta has been involved in controversial practices, and it is likely that the company will face further scandals in the future. At this point, it is unclear whether the accusations made by Hayward are accurate, but it is important to remain vigilant and watch how the situation develops.
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