Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has reportedly halted an internal employee-tracking program after concerns emerged that sensitive workforce data may have been accessible across the company. According to Reuters, the company investigates potential security issues linked to the tool known as the Model Capability Initiative (MCI). This program was reportedly launched in April in the United States to collect workplace activity data such as mouse movements, clicks, keystrokes to help train the tech giant’s AI systems.
As per the report, the company reportedly said that it paused the inactive after an internal security incident raised concerns about how employee information was being handled.
Here’s How Meta Responded
Reportedly Meta spokesperson Tracy Clayton said the firm had built privacy protections into the program and it currently has no evidence that employee data was improperly accessed. However, the company decided to suspend the initiative while a review is underway.
As per Business Insider, the tool was still collecting data on Monday afternoon, although Meta said the process of shutting it down for all employees would take some time.
Internal Report Triggered Investigation
Notably, the decision to stop the program reportedly came after an employee had filed a high-priority security incident report. The internal documents reviewed by Reuters suggest that the data connected to the program may have been visible to a wider group of employees than intended.
This exposed data allegedly included AI prompts, conversation transcripts, performance-related information and sensitivity classifications. Previous reports had also raised concerns that some of the collected information was being stored without encryption, increasing worries about privacy and security.
Moreover, the report highlights that an employee involved in internal discussion has allegedly expressed concern that personal data, including tax along with medical details were accessed through work computers. The employee also reportedly said staff had been told that their data would be filtered and protected before it will be used.
This incident comes at a time when Meta is already facing backlash from its workforce. Recent reports have suggested that employee morale has been low due to layoffs, restructuring and the company’s push into AI. Meta’s Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth has also reportedly admitted that morale among employees was close to historic lows.
As big tech players continue to use the workplace data to train AI, questions around transparency, security and consent are becoming important.
