A former Meta engineer, laid off in 2023, successfully transitioned to game development and launched Ballionaire on Steam. The game, inspired by Luck Be A Landlord, has sold approximately 200,000 units in its first 10 weeks after a year of intense development.
Meta has increased target annual bonuses for top executives from 75% to 200% of base salary, effective 2025, while simultaneously conducting mass layoffs of 3,700 employees and reducing stock options for remaining staff by 10%. The company reported a 59% year-over-year increase in net income to $62.36 billion and plans massive AI investments, with Zuckerberg announcing $60 billion in AI infrastructure expansion.
Meta announces two major events for 2025: LlamaCon, a developer conference focused on open source AI developments on April 29, and Meta Connect, returning September 17-18 with updates on virtual and mixed reality technology. Both events aim to provide developers with tools and insights for building next-generation computing platforms.
Meta faces serious allegations of copyright infringement after unsealed emails reveal the company torrented over 160 terabytes of pirated books from shadow libraries for AI training. Internal communications show Meta employees expressed concerns about the legal implications of torrenting and seeding copyrighted content using corporate resources.
Meta's surveillance extends beyond its social platforms through tracking tools embedded in millions of websites and apps, collecting personal data even from non-users for targeted advertising. Recent policy changes and privacy concerns have led to increased interest in limiting Meta's data collection, though complete avoidance requires specific settings adjustments and privacy tools.