Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge
Meta allegedly fired or disciplined over two dozen employees for misusing — and, in some cases, taking bribes for using — an account recovery tool over the past year. The Wall Street Journal reported the news this morning, describing a “cottage industry” of people abusing a tool called “Oops” or Online Operations. That includes accepting thousands of dollars to get legitimate users and hackers alike into Facebook or Instagram accounts.
Oops is a long-running shortcut to Facebook and Instagram’s typically automated account recovery process, designed for acquaintances of Meta employees. (Its queue apparently processed around 50,000 “tasks” in 2020, the number growing rapidly as Meta expanded.) But the Journal report claims a black market…