Meta Relaxes AI Data Collection: Employees Can Pause Tracking for 30-Minute Intervals

Meta is significantly modifying its strategy regarding employee surveillance, announcing that staff members will now have the ability to halt the recording of their computer interactions. According to an internal memo circulated on Tuesday, the social media giant is scaling back its original plan to monitor workers' keystrokes and mouse clicks for the purpose of training artificial intelligence models.

This adjustment follows a period of intense internal scrutiny. In April, the company faced substantial pushback from its workforce after revealing the new monitoring tool. The backlash included a petition opposing the initiative, which has since garnered more than 1,500 signatures.

Under the revised protocol, detailed by Reuters, employees can now pause data collection in 30-minute increments. Additionally, workers retain the option to request full exemptions from the program. Despite these changes, Meta declined to provide further comment for the record.

The initial rollout of the tool, known as the Model Capability Initiative (MCI), had drawn sharp criticism. At the time, Meta explained to the BBC that the data was essential for developing AI agents capable of assisting users with daily computer tasks. "If we're building agents to help people complete everyday tasks using computers, our models need real examples of how people actually use them," the company stated, asserting that the information would not be used for other purposes and that safeguards were implemented to protect sensitive information.

However, these assurances did not appease the workforce. One employee, speaking anonymously, described the experience of having their actions used to train AI as "very dystopian." This sentiment was compounded by fears of impending layoffs; Meta has already reduced its staff by approximately 2,000 this year. In April, the company announced plans to eliminate roughly 10% of its workforce, affecting about 8,000 employees.

Another former employee characterized the monitoring tool as "just the latest way they're shoving AI down everyone's throat."

The memo outlining the new controls was reportedly written by Stephane Kasriel, a vice president within Meta’s Superintelligence Labs. He acknowledged that the team had implemented "several optimizations" to address performance issues, specifically noting improvements to laptop battery life. These technical fixes were introduced after reports emerged that the tool was consuming excessive data, leading to increased internet usage costs for remote workers.

"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 wrote in the memo.

Source: BBC News Generated at: 2026-06-03 10:46:30 UTC