--- title: "Zuckerberg Said to Have “Panic Chute” for Escape From Facebook HQ" description: "## Panic Chute" date: "2019-03-08" modified: "2019-03-09" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/zuckerberg-panic-chute-escape-facebook" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "facebook" - "mark zuckerberg" - "social media" - "the digest" --- # Zuckerberg Said to Have “Panic Chute” for Escape From Facebook HQ ![here are persistent rumors among workers at the social giant that the company's security staff installed a secret "panic chute" for Zuckerberg.]() *\Image: Victor Tangermann\* ## Panic Chute A [*Business Insider* investigation]() into Facebook's security practices provides a riveting look at how the company protects its celebrity executives — but the strangest revelations were about the company's extraordinary efforts to keep CEO [Mark Zuckerberg]() safe. One persistent rumor exemplifies the company's apparent paranoia: Workers at the social media giant claim that the company's security staff installed a secret "panic chute" at the company's headquarters that Zuckerberg's security detail can use to evacuate him in the case of an emergency. ## Zuck Truck Facebook's executive-protection team is run by a former U.S. Secret Service special agent named Jill Leavens Jones, according to *BI*, and she has serious resources to protect Zuckerberg, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, and others — including a $10 million annual budget dedicated solely to protecting the CEO and his family. That funding has led to some futuristic security features, according to *BI*'s investigation. In addition to the rumored panic chute, Zuckerberg himself has access to a room with bullet-resistant windows and a "panic button." Nobody is allowed to park in the spot in the parking garage directly below his desk for fear of car bombs. ## Friends Forever The strangest takeaway from the story, though, isn't what Facebook does to protect Zuckerberg from stalkers and potential threats — it's the company's efforts to protect him from Facebook employees themselves, who aren't even allowed to take photos of the enigmatic CEO. "If you've ever been close to his office, you'll see there are big burly people sitting there staring at screens," one Facebook employee [wrote on *Quora*](). "They pretend to be software engineers, but everyone knows that they are security guards." **READ MORE:** [Mark Zuckerberg is rumored to have a secret escape passageway beneath his conference room for emergencies]() \[*Business Insider*\] **More on Zuckerberg: *[Mark Zuckerberg Insists That Facebook Promotes Privacy]()*** ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()