Meta says it is pausing its Model Capability Initiative (MCI), an internal program used to train AI that records employees’ computer activity. Multiple outlets report that the tool logs inputs such as keystrokes and mouse activity, and can capture or observe screen content to generate examples of how people use computers. The pause follows an internal security incident in which sensitive employee data collected through the program became accessible more broadly across the company. Reports describe the exposed material as including private conversations, transcriptions or prompts, and performance-related data stored in large numbers of internal data tables. One account cites companywide exposure of data across roughly 45,000 “hive tables,” while another describes that employees had raised privacy concerns early on and were told there was no opt-out for U.S. staff. Employees and some staff groups had organized a petition against the program, arguing privacy reviews and safeguards were unclear and that only limited categories of workers could opt out. Meta confirms it is investigating the incident. In statements attributed to the company, Meta says it has no current indication of improper access by Meta employees, but pauses the program while it investigates.
Meta pauses AI training program that records employee keystrokes and screen activity after internal leak
Meta says it is pausing its Model Capability Initiative (MCI), an internal program used to train AI that records employees’ computer activity. Multiple outlets report that the tool logs inputs such as...
- Meta pauses its Model Capability Initiative (MCI), an AI training program that tracks employee computer activity.
- The program records data such as keystrokes and mouse activity, and can capture screen content.
- Sensitive data collected through MCI was made accessible across Meta’s internal systems after a security incident.
- Meta says it is investigating the incident and pauses the program while the review is ongoing.
- Employees had previously raised privacy concerns and challenged the lack of an opt-out for U.S. staff, including through a petition.
Workers signed petition against tool that tracked staff keystrokes, mouse clicks and computer screen contentMark Zuckerberg’s Meta has paused a program that tracked employees’ computer activity amid data privacy concerns and a staff backlash.The owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp had introduced a tool that tracked staff keystrokes, mouse clicks and content displayed on computer screens in order to collect data for training its AI models. Continue reading...
1 month agoMeta has paused its Model Capability Initiative (MCI), the AI training program that tracked US employees' keystrokes, mouse clicks and screen content, after an internal security notice revealed the data had leaked companywide. Roughly 45,000 hive tables holding private conversations and performance records were exposed. The reversal comes two months after Meta told staff there was no opt-out, and follows a petition signed by over 1,600 workers.
1 month agoJust two months after Meta announced plans to track employee keystrokes and mouse movements to train its AI models, the company said it would pause the program after an alleged internal leak. According to a screenshot obtained by Business Insider, employees’ private conversations, performance data and transcriptions were accessible across the company. On a scale of 0 to 5—0 being the most severe—the incident was classified as a SEV (severity) 2. Meta confirmed the incident to Business Insider. According to documents reviewed by Wired, a security notice said that “employee data across 45,000 hive tables”—a data storage format—were exposed, which included employee activity, including “full prompts and transcriptions, private conversations, people and performance data.” In response to Fast Company’s request for comment, a Meta spokesperson said: “We have carefully designed this program with privacy safeguards and while we have no indication at this time that any data was improperly accessed by Meta employees, we’re pausing it while we investigate.” Meta employees had strong reactions to the internal AI training model, called the Model Capability Initiative, or MCI. Staffers could not opt out of being tracked by the software on company laptops, which gave rise to privacy concerns. Following this tension—and 10% of Meta’s workforce being laid off—the company’s CTO Andrew Bosworth said that company morale was “near the worst it’s ever been.” In May, Meta told Fast Company that its “[AI] models need real examples of how people actually use [computers]—things like mouse movements, clicking buttons, and navigating dropdown menus.” A spokesperson for the company also added that there were “safeguards in place to protect sensitive content.” Still, employees created an online petition protesting against the use of the software. They posted flyers across Meta offices calling on their colleagues to sign it. “When employees asked what privacy reviews were conducted, including any ‘people data reviews’ (which are required for processing employee data), no completed privacy reviews were provided,” the petition, which had 1,600 signatures as of June 3, read. “The outlined privacy mitigations were vague, and leadership’s confidence in them appeared limited—evidenced by the selective opt-out afforded to executives.”
1 month agoMeta halted its employee tracking program, which collected keystrokes, screen content, and mouse movements, after sensitive data was leaked internally.
1 month agoSensitive employee data collected through the Model Capability Initiative was made accessible to all Meta staff
1 month agoThe Model Capability Initiative, which logs mouse movements and keystrokes to train Meta’s AI, is on hold after sensitive staff data was left accessible to the whole company. Meta has paused a programme that watches its own employees work. On Monday 22 June 2026, the company said it would halt the internal tool that tracks […] This story continues at The Next Web
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