Former engineer files lawsuit against Meta for discrimination, wrongful termination


(MENAFN) Ferras Hamad, a former engineer at Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has filed a lawsuit in California accusing the tech giant of discrimination and wrongful termination. According to Reuters, Hamad alleges that Meta exhibited bias against Palestinians during his tenure on the machine learning team from 2021 until February.

In the lawsuit, Hamad claims that Meta engaged in censorship by deleting internal employee messages from Palestinian-Americans discussing the deaths of their relatives in Gaza and investigating their use of Palestinian flag emojis. He asserts that no similar investigations were conducted into employees using Israeli or Ukrainian flags.

Hamad alleges that he was terminated after raising concerns about irregularities in Meta's emergency procedure for handling "site events" (SEV), particularly when it resulted in restrictions on Instagram posts by Palestinian personalities. He cites an instance where a short video by photojournalist Motaz Azaiza, depicting a destroyed building in Gaza, was labeled as pornographic by Meta.

Despite Hamad's efforts to address these issues, Meta accused him of violating company policy by involving himself in accounts of individuals he personally knew, although he maintains he is not personally acquainted with Azaiza. He had previously handled SEV cases related to Gaza, Israel, and Ukraine, which he claims were within his job description as confirmed in writing. Hamad filed an internal discrimination complaint in January, but was terminated shortly after.

Meta has yet to respond to requests for comment on the allegations made by Hamad. The lawsuit brings to light concerns over potential bias in Meta's content moderation practices and raises questions about the company's treatment of employees advocating for accountability and fairness within the organization.

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