Meta employees are angry about a new tool. This tool tracks their mouse movements and keystrokes. It is used to train the company's AI agents. Reuters reported in April that Meta would track computer use. The tool is called "Model Capability Initiative" or "MCI".
Weeks later, Meta fired 8,000 employees. They said they were focusing more on AI. Now, current employees are criticizing the tracking tool. They say it might break privacy rules in the EU, according to Reuters.
Meta told US employees in April about the MCI tool. It tracks how they work. This includes clicks and menu navigation. The goal is to build AI agents for coding tasks. Meta assured employees the tool is US-only. Privacy measures are in place.
However, some employees have complained. They call Meta a "data mining factory." They say the tool uses a lot of data. This increased home internet use for some. It used a whole month's data in just days.
Employees also claim MCI does more than Meta says. They say it tracks code changes. It also tracks computer sleep cycles. It even tracks copied links. This is according to employee claims.
Two Meta employees told Reuters a post about this vanished. A company spokesperson said the post was wrong. He called it "inaccurate."
Meta explained in a document that MCI captures emails. It captures direct messages sent to US employees. This happens no matter where the sender is. Reuters saw this document.
A legal expert told Reuters this could violate EU data rules. The expert said it depends if collecting EU resident data is "incidental." It also depends if the tool passes the "purpose limitation" test.
A spokesperson said MCI is only on US employee devices. He told Reuters that employees outside the US were informed. They were told the tool is on US colleagues' devices. This applies to those who might message them.
He added, "We have carefully considered and mitigated potential privacy risks." They are committed to following laws. Meta also faces EU complaints about fraud protection. This is alongside Google and TikTok.