- Meta is trying to crack down on staff leaking internal company updates to the press. The memo warning consequences include “termination” was then promptly leaked.
This week Mark Zuckerberg bemoaned the fact that everything he says gets leaked to the press—though that may be something of an occupational hazard for a billionaire running one of the world’s biggest companies.
But that didn’t stop a Meta exec from threatening to fire staff who decided to share company information.
Unfortunately, that memo was then also leaked.
In a Meta all-hands yesterday, the founder and CEO reportedly bemoaned the fact that the contents of what he shares with staff often end up online.
“Everything I say leaks. And it sucks, right?” Zuckerberg said in an audio clip reportedly leaked to 404 Media.
“I want to be able to talk about stuff openly, but I am also trying to like, well, we’re trying to build stuff and create value in the world, not destroy value by talking about stuff that inevitably leaks.”
It seems the lamentations from Zuckerberg lit a fire beneath Meta’s chief information security officer, Guy Rosen.
Following the all-hands, Rosen reportedly sent a memo to staff reading: “We take leaks seriously and will take action.
“When information is stolen or leaked, there are repercussions beyond the immediate security impact. Our teams become demoralized, and we all waste time that is better spent working on our products and toward our goals and mission.”
The memo was promptly shared with The Verge.
Staff trust issues
While some details of company politics can be expected to one day end up in the public domain, in highly competitive sectors like tech, the C-suite does face major issues if it can’t trust its staff with sensitive information.
The rise of AI has meant competition—not only among domestic rivals but on the global stage, too—is continuing to heat up, with America’s highest-profile companies keen to keep their winning cards close to their metaphorical chests.
As such, Rosen reportedly added that Meta has taken—and will take—“appropriate action, including termination” if it identifies individuals who leak updates.
The memo adds: “We recently terminated relationships with employees who leaked confidential company information inappropriately and exfiltrated sensitive documents.”
Meta did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
Inside Meta’s culture battle
Tensions are high at the $1.73 trillion tech giant after its founder expressed a number of ideas about shifting the culture of the business.
For example, earlier this month Zuckerberg told The Joe Rogan Experience that he is a fan of “masculine energy” in corporate culture.
The man worth $242 billion per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index explained: “Masculine energy I think is good, and obviously society has plenty of that, but I think that corporate culture was really trying to get away from it.
“It’s like you want feminine energy, you want masculine energy,” he added. “I think that that’s all good. But I do think the corporate culture sort of had swung toward being this somewhat more neutered thing.”
According to the New York Times, Zuckerberg is also trying to distance himself from Meta’s inclusive company policies—reportedly blaming them on former chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg.
But it seems some members of staff aren’t willing to take the new direction without a quiet fight.
Earlier this week the Times spoke with five sources who said individual employees are bringing in and leaving sanitary items such as tampons in the men’s bathrooms, after they were removed by the company.
