(Reuters) - Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) on Thursday said that it fired an employee accused of bragging on matchmaking app Tinder about his access to private user information.
The incident comes as Facebook faces global concerns about personal data privacy, including Congressional hearings at which Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg testified.
A Twitter user earlier on Wednesday posted https://twitter.com/find_evil/status/990803669837807616 about the Tinder conversation along with screenshots, saying Facebook's security engineer is "likely using privileged access to stalk women online".
In the unverified screenshot, the employee in question writes of being a "professional stalker" searching for hackers.
In a statement, Facebook's Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos said the company quickly investigated the situation and immediately fired the person.
Access to sensitive data is logged, and the company has automated systems designed to detect and prevent abuse, Stamos said.
"Employees who abuse these controls will be fired — period."
The firing was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.