Meta has updated its controversial employee tracking software to allow workers a 30-minute reprieve from surveillance, according to a leaked internal memo. The US tech giant faced backlash after announcing in April that it would capture employees' mouse movements and keystrokes to train its artificial intelligence systems.
Internal Initiative Sparks Backlash
Referred to internally as the Model Capability Initiative (MCI), the program aims to help AI models replicate how people interact with computers. However, the move faced strong opposition within Meta, with some staff viewing it as a breach of privacy and an attempt to accelerate the replacement of human roles with AI.
A petition against the initiative gathered more than 1,500 signatures from workers, with some describing it as 'very dystopian' and likening Meta to an 'employee data extraction factory'.
Updated Policy Offers Limited Control
In response to the backlash, Meta will now allow staff to pause the tracking tool for 'up to 30 minutes at a time', as well as request to be exempted from the tracking altogether. Stephane Kasriel, a vice president in Meta's Superintelligence Labs, wrote in an internal memo seen by Reuters: 'While we remain confident in the privacy protections we put in place at launch, which went through several layers of risk review, we have heard your concerns about personal data on work devices, battery life, and wanting more control over when capturing happens.'
A spokesperson for Meta declined to comment on the memo.
Expert Concerns on Privacy and Consent
Virginia Doellgast, a professor of employee relations and dispute resolution at Cornell University, raised concerns about data privacy and consent. 'Workers are producing additional value for their employers – are they being compensated for this, and are they given a choice to opt in or opt out? Probably not,' she told The Independent. 'The screen capture part of the software could capture personal employee data. We have weak rights on data privacy in the US, but in other countries there are clear rights protecting personal data in the workplace.'
