confidentiality
I&#39;m afraid I disclosed confidential information. What do you think?
<p>I'm a shareholder and developer at a startup. Last month the board announced me that they will fire me, due to a merge with a partner as I'm considered redundant and all development will be moved to the partner.</p>

<p>Few weeks ago a professional "contact" asked me privately in FB how are we going during covid.
I was still emotionally touched and I told him I was fired, and the cause was a new partnership, that the company decided to move dev to external partner, and that I thought with the saving they got from my dismissal they will be fine.</p>

<p>I deleted the message, but I think he read it. 
I'm fucking scared now.
did I disclose confidential information? the "contact" is also contact of my CEO, and his company is one of our customer.</p>

<p>What could happen to me?</p>

<p>The fact that you have been laid off is both your company’s information, and your personal information. You are allowed to tell your own personal information. The move to a new partner however is <em>not</em> your information. </p>

<p>As long as you are still employed your employment contract will probably say that you mustn’t do anything to damage the company. You’d need to read what the consequences would be. Maybe the contract says you can be fired... which doesn’t matter unless you would lose a redundancy payment. </p>

<p>After leaving it would depend on whether you had a non-disclosure agreement. </p>

<p>And last, does your company care? This merger can’t be kept a secret anyway. </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>did I disclose confidential information?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>No. The substance of your disclosure to the FB contact is hardly confidential insofar as not only the merger already took place, but also the company now is restructuring itself as a result thereof.</p>

<p>Even if your contract or some binding document states that the information is confidential, it will be hard for the company to reasonably allege that your disclosure is or can be harmful. For instance, the fact that the merger already happened implies that it is impossible for your disclosure to preempt the merger by prompting either entity to discard it.</p>

<p>Information about clients is much likelier to be confidential, although your description nowhere reflects that you revealed that kind of information. Similarly with marketing and trade secrets.</p>
