Resignation from Meta in Protest Against Its Complicity in Human Rights Violations: An Open Letter from Muthana Al-Faris
Muthana Al-Faris, who held various positions over the three years he worked at Meta, most recently as Project Manager in the Integrity and Compliance Operations Department, has announced his resignation in protest against the company’s complicity in human rights violations and the ongoing genocide being committed by the Israeli entity against Palestinians in Gaza.
In his public statement on Facebook, Al-Faris confirmed that he joined Meta with the goal of building tools that foster communication and empower individuals. However, he quickly realized that the company was indirectly enabling violations against Palestinians through partnerships with arms manufacturers like “Anduril,” as well as through its user data collection operations, which were used by the occupying forces to target civilians.
Key Points in the Resignation:
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Complicity in Violations: Al-Faris explains how his work in improving data quality and AI systems made him feel complicit in facilitating attacks on Palestinian civilians through partnerships with companies like “Anduril,” which supplies weapons to the occupying forces.
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Biased Policies: Al-Faris revealed significant gaps in Meta’s content policies, where Facebook’s platform discriminated against Palestinian content and responded with bias to takedown requests from Israeli sources, highlighting the political bias of Meta in managing and enforcing its policies.
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Call for Change: Al-Faris not only resigned but also issued an open call to the leaders of major tech companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft to stop enabling genocide and war crimes. He also urged the international community, especially the people of Ireland, to take a firm stance against these crimes.
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“Act First as a Human”: Al-Faris concluded his public resignation letter by urging people working in the tech field to place human values above any commercial interests and redirect their skills toward noble causes such as education, sustainable energy, and climate solutions, rather than enabling death and destruction.
The Deeper Message:
Al-Faris intended his resignation to serve as a wake-up call to all those working in the tech sector, emphasizing the need to take humanitarian stances against complicity with oppressive regimes and urging companies to take meaningful action against systems that oppress and kill innocent people.
“We will not remain silent when injustice is committed,” was one of the messages Al-Faris emphasized, warning all companies that might find themselves in a similar position: complicity in mass atrocities is not a choice any company can survive.
Full Text of the Resignation Letter:
Public Resignation Statement
I, Muthana Al-Faris, after more than three years of work at Meta—during which I held various positions ranging from Middle East Operations Specialist at Meta to Project Manager, consistently receiving high performance evaluations and promotions—hereby announce my resignation from my position as Project Manager in the Integrity and Compliance Operations Department, in loyalty and disavowal, in protest against the company’s role in enabling human rights violations, including the ongoing genocide being perpetrated by the Israeli entity against our Palestinian brothers and sisters.
I joined Meta with the goal of building tools that connect people and empower them. Instead, I have seen my work directed toward military applications, biased policy enforcement, and partnerships with defense contractors that expose the company to serious human rights violations.
When it is said that a company supports an army that commits genocide, anyone who believes in justice and high values cannot remain silent.
My Path to This Decision
My concerns at Meta began when I worked as a Middle East Operations Specialist in content policy detection and enforcement automation, where I was troubled by what seemed to be glaring and unexplained gaps in bias when dealing with content and accounts in various regions.
These concerns followed me into my role as Project Manager in the Integrity Operations Department, where they deepened. News reports revealed Meta’s partnerships with the arms manufacturer “Anduril.” I also learned that individuals with connections to the Israeli apartheid entity had been placed in sensitive positions, which could influence crucial decision-making processes.
When I realized that my work in improving data quality for large language models (AI systems), testing the safety of AI systems, and building automation tools could make me complicit in the bloodshed of my Palestinian brothers and sisters by enabling the development of weapons like those from the “Anduril” partnership and undisclosed connections with the Israeli government, that was the last straw.
In addition to the fear of AI being used to target innocent people, I also witnessed:
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Policy Gaps and Unequal Enforcement: Leading to systematic bias in restricting and deleting content directed against Palestinian voices and Arabic content. Violations in Hebrew were downplayed, while takedown requests from Israeli sources were prioritized for review and received direct executive attention.
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Exploitation of Platform Vulnerabilities for User Data Collection: Meta’s data collection practices were acknowledged by Israeli occupying forces to be used for targeting individuals for assassination, arrest, or military strikes. Meta management failed to provide adequate solutions or responses, and these issues have now been raised in a lawsuit filed by the former head of WhatsApp security.
I cannot separate my personal technical contributions from the broader harms they may enable at Meta, regardless of the team I work in. For these reasons, I resign.
A Call to Leaders and Managers of Major Tech Companies
To the CEOs and board members of major tech companies (Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Nvidia, and others):
I urge major tech companies to stop enabling genocide and war crimes worldwide. End these contracts, reject future deals, and face the truth: complicity in mass atrocities has consequences that no company can escape.
To the People of Ireland, My Second Home:
Ireland has a longstanding tradition of neutrality and leadership in human rights. I call on the Irish people to demand that their elected representatives ensure that Irish airspace and territorial waters are not used to facilitate the transfer of weapons and military equipment to ongoing wars, including the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
To My Fellow Workers in Tech Companies:
Use your expertise to build a more just world—not to help Israel kill Palestinian families. Direct your skills toward lifesaving medicine, sustainable energy, accessibility, climate solutions, education, and public-interest infrastructure. Political winds change. What you defend today may be indefensible tomorrow.
If your companies do not stop enabling harm, take a public stance: organize, refuse to work on harmful projects, or resign. Let us channel our energy toward solving humanity’s toughest problems—not creating new ones.
And above all, act first as a human.
With utmost respect,
Muthana Al-Faris
