Meta eases monitoring of employees’ computer use after fierce backlash from staff
After significant internal resistance, Meta is adjusting its strategy for monitoring how employees use their computers. The company had originally introduced a system designed to record mouse movements and keystrokes in order to refine its AI models. However, following a wave of protests, Meta is now introducing new options that allow employees to suspend this data collection in 30-minute intervals or request a complete exemption from the programme.
The project, known as the Model Capability Initiative (MCI), was presented by the company as a necessary step to teach AI agents how people interact with computers when carrying out everyday tasks. Although Meta claimed that the data collected was used solely for training and was protected by privacy safeguards, staff reacted hostilely.
One employee described the surveillance as “dystopian”, especially since the company has already cut thousands of jobs this year and had previously indicated that further staff reductions would follow. Other critics saw the initiative as an aggressive attempt to integrate AI into every aspect of the working environment.
The resistance manifested itself in a petition signed by more than 1,500 employees, in addition to complaints about the tool’s technical impact. According to an internal communication from Stephane Kasriel, vice president at Meta’s Superintelligence Labs, the tracking software caused significant battery drain on laptops and a spike in home internet data usage.
In his memo, Kasriel acknowledged staff concerns about personal privacy on company equipment and the desire for more autonomy over the tracking process. He noted that the team has since implemented several technical improvements to minimise the software’s impact on device performance, although Meta has officially refused to provide any further public comment on the matter.
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