EX-Whatsapp Safety Head Attaullah Baig Simes Meta claims that their employees had access to sensitive user data

Meta is once again facing questions around user privacy, this time from one of its own former officers. Atullah Baig, who served as the head of WhatsApp security from 2021 to 2025, has taken legal action against the company in the US, alleging that the messaging app accused the major security weaknesses that can put the user data at risk.

In a case filed in the US district court for the northern district of California, the bag alleged that WhatsApp was suffering from “systemic cyber security failures” and when he reported these problems repeatedly to senior leaders including Mark Zuckerberg of Meta Mark Zuckerberg, he faced retaliation. He claimed that 1,500 meta engineers had open access to sensitive WhatsApp data, something that he says that lacks proper checks or monitoring.

The complaint runs in 115 pages and describes how WhatsApp has described as a serious interval about how WhatsApp has handled data security. According to him, internal testing has shown that developers on the platform can move or steal “user data such as contact, IP addresses and profile photos without leaving any record. He also claimed that the company failed to implement basic cyber security measures like a fully functional 24-hour safety operating center, yet despite that there is food for more than three billion users worldwide.

Meta has denied the allegations, in which both the role of the bag and their credibility are questioned. A spokesperson of the company told CNBC, “Sadly, it is a familiar playbook in which a former employee is rejected for poor performance and then becomes public with deformed claims that incorrectly presents our team’s ongoing hard work. Security is an unfavorable place, and we pride to build our strong records.”

Baig is being represented by PSSST.ORG, a whistleblower support organization, as well as with law firms Seanbune, Seplo, Harris, Hoffman and Zeldes. The lawsuit itself does not claim that WhatsApp user data was leaked or misused, but it emphasizes that the flaws marked the compliance risks, especially since the Meta is subject to the compromise regulatory clock with the federal trade commission with 2020 in America.

He also alleged that after raising concerns, his seniors started questioning his performance. Within the days of his first formal disclosure, he allegedly started receiving negative response and eventually lost his job. His lawyers argue that time shows a direct connection between his grievances and his end.