Meta scales back controversial AI data tracking tool after employee backlash

Meta is scaling back its plan to start tracking its employees' computer activity, according to an internal memo sent on Tuesday.

In April the company received criticism from its own staff after it announced a new tool would log their keystrokes and mouse clicks to train its AI models.

Now, according to Reuters, new controls will allow employees to pause the data collection for "up to 30 minutes at a time" as well as request exemptions from the initiative altogether.

It follows weeks of backlash from employees, including some who started a petition against the move which now has more than 1,500 signatures.

During the initial announcement of the tool, called the Model Capability Initiative (MCI), Meta told the BBC: "If we're building agents to help people complete everyday tasks using computers, our models need real examples of how people actually use them."

It added that the data was "not used for any other purpose," and the tool had "safeguards in place to protect sensitive content".

But workers were not impressed, with one Meta employee, who asked not to be identified, telling the BBC that having their actions train AI models felt "very dystopian" - as workers expected a slew of additional job cuts.

Meta has laid off around 2,000 employees this year. In April the company told employees it planned to cut 10% of its workforce - roughly 8,000 staff.

Another person who recently left the company told the BBC the tracking tool was "just the latest way they're shoving AI down everyone's throat".

An internal memo - seen by Reuters - was reportedly authored by Stephane Kasriel, a vice president in Meta's Superintelligence Labs unit.

In it, he said the team behind the MCI had introduced "several optimizations" to reduce its impact on laptop battery life.

This change came after reports that employees were finding the tool consumed so much data it was causing their internet usage to surge when working from home.

"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," Kasriel said in the memo.