Meta suspends employee tracking program after data leak

Meta ↘ 4.90% has suspended its Model Capability Initiative, a controversial AI training program that recorded employees' keystrokes and mouse movements, after an internal security incident exposed sensitive worker data across the company.

Internal Breach Forces Suspension

On Monday, an internal memo from a Meta engineer revealed that databases containing information collected by MCI had been accessible to anyone within the organization, according to Wired. A screenshot showed the leak exposed employees' private conversations, performance data, and transcriptions, Business Insider reported. The incident was classified as a SEV 2 on Meta's severity scale, which ranges from 0 (most severe) to 5.businessinsider+1

Tracy Clayton, a Meta spokesperson, confirmed the suspension. "We have meticulously crafted this initiative with privacy measures, and while there is currently no evidence that any data was accessed inappropriately by Meta employees, we are halting it as we conduct an investigation," Clayton said.wired

After critical remarks flooded internal forums on Monday, Meta announced the complete suspension of MCI, informing Wired of the decision before communicating it to staff. One employee wrote internally: "I don't see any evidence of malicious access, but the fact that this data wasn't locked down as originally promised is super frustrating".businessinsider+1

A Program Already Under Siege

The suspension caps months of internal opposition to MCI. Reuters first reported in April that Meta was installing software on U.S.-based employees' computers to capture mouse movements, clicks, and keystrokes for training AI agents capable of performing routine software tasks autonomously. The tool pulled data from more than 200 applications and websites and intermittently captured screenshots of employees' screens.reuters+1

More than 1,500 employees signed a petition opposing the system. In early June, Meta offered limited concessions — allowing workers to pause data collection for up to 30 minutes and request exemptions — but did not end the program.finance.yahoo+3

Privacy Concerns Mount

Reuters reported in late May that MCI's data collection was more extensive than initially disclosed, capturing the content of emails and direct messages sent to U.S. employees regardless of the sender's location, raising concerns about compliance with EU privacy regulations. The breach now validates fears that employees voiced from the program's inception about inadequate safeguards around the data being collected.mashable+1