Meta scales back on employee trackers to train AI after backlash

Meta is scaling back plans to collect employee activity data for artificial intelligence training after weeks of internal backlash from staff members concerned about privacy.

Last month, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the company would begin deploying software on employee computers designed to capture data that could be used to train AI systems. The program was intended to collect information such as mouse movements, keystrokes, and other workplace computer activity.

Following employee pushback, Meta has introduced new controls that will allow workers to pause data collection for up to 30 minutes at a time and request exemptions from the program, according to an internal memo written by Stephanie Kasriel, vice president of Meta’s AI model-building Superintelligence Labs unit.

According to Reuters, the company will also implement “several optimizations” to reduce the program’s impact on battery life after employees said that so much data was being consumed it caused their home internet usage to increase.

“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,” the memo read.

The initiative sparked considerable opposition inside the company, with some employees referring to Meta as an “employee data extraction factory.” Others circulated a petition opposing the program that gathered more than 1,500 signatures.

When the AI tracking tool was initially announced, Meda said in a statement that they were “building agents to help people complete everyday tasks using computers, our models need real examples of how people actually use them." The company also tried to alleviate concerns by saying the data was "not used for any other purpose," and had “safeguards in place to protect sensitive content.”