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Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta has announced the rollout of a new tracking system on work computers used by its US-based employees, sparking internal backlash and raising concerns about workplace surveillance and ethics. The system records how employees interact with everyday software, and notably, staff do not have the option to opt out.

According to reports, the company will monitor user activity such as mouse movements, keystrokes, and on-screen actions to generate training data for artificial intelligence systems. The tool, known as the Model Capability Initiative (MCI), captures detailed inputs including click patterns, navigation behavior across menus, and keyboard shortcuts. It also takes periodic screenshots—referred to as "screen content"—to provide contextual understanding for AI models.

Employees will receive a prompt on their work devices asking them to enable the tool, after which it operates across a predefined set of applications and platforms. These include commonly used tools like Gmail, Google Chat, Meta's internal assistant Metamate, and development environments such as VS Code.

Meta has described the initiative as essential for improving AI systems. A company spokesperson explained that training advanced AI agents requires real-world examples of how people use computers, including interactions like clicking buttons, moving cursors, and navigating interfaces. The MCI tool is designed to capture these behaviors to enhance model performance.

The rollout applies to both full-time employees and contingent staff in the US. While Meta has clarified that monitoring will be limited to company-issued devices and not extend to personal machines, employees are still required to participate without the option to decline.

Concerns among staff go beyond privacy. Many employees are uneasy about how the collected data might be used in the future—particularly in the context of automation and job security.

Adding to the tension, the company is reportedly planning workforce reductions of up to 20%, with layoffs expected to begin in May. This has intensified criticism, as employees are effectively contributing data that could help develop AI systems capable of automating their own roles.

Although Meta has stated that some level of activity monitoring on company systems has existed for years, the scale and purpose of this new initiative have amplified employee concerns around surveillance, autonomy, and the broader implications of AI in the workplace.