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Meta Pauses Employee Tracking Program After Internal Security Breach

Meta has paused its employee tracking program after an internal security breach exposed data collected through the initiative to other workers, according to a company spokesperson.

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Meta has paused its employee tracking program following an internal security breach that exposed data collected through the initiative to other workers, according to a company spokesperson. The decision comes after a Meta engineer reported that databases containing information gathered by the Model Compatibility Initiative (MCI) had been exposed internally. Tracy Clayton, a company spokesperson, said the company is pausing the program while it investigates the issue, adding that there is currently no indication that any data was improperly accessed by employees. The MCI tool, launched in April for US employees, collects computer inputs such as mouse movements, click locations, and keystrokes, as well as screen content, according to workers who have petitioned against it over privacy, security, and personal liberty concerns. When the tool first launched, employees couldn’t opt out, but that changed to a limited degree after workers protested. Meta executives have repeatedly defended the data-gathering project, saying it was necessary to train AI systems to operate computer software the way humans do and that employees were the best examples for the artificial intelligence to learn from. On Monday, a Meta engineer issued an internal security notice stating that databases filled with information gathered by MCI had been exposed to anyone inside the company. A former employee actively involved in pushing back against MCI describes the lapse as 'a mess' — and one that employees had expected would occur. 'When workers raised concerns, leadership doubled down and failed to acknowledge the risks workers raised about the safety and privacy of worker and customer data,' the person says. 'Leadership has clearly created an authoritarian environment where workers are no longer respected or heard.' But after critical comments poured into internal forums on Monday expressing frustration about the security issue, Meta shocked some of its staff by pausing MCI altogether, telling WIRED about the development before announcing it to employees.

Source: wired

Key points

Meta has paused its employee tracking program following an internal security breach that exposed data collected through the initiative to other workers.
A Meta engineer reported that databases containing information gathered by the Model Compatibility Initiative (MCI) had been exposed internally.
Tracy Clayton, a company spokesperson, said the company is pausing the program while it investigates the issue, adding that there is currently no indication that any data was improperly accessed by employees.
The MCI tool, launched in April for US employees, collects computer inputs such as mouse movements, click locations, and keystrokes, as well as screen content, according to workers who have petitioned against it over privacy, security, and personal liberty concerns.
Meta executives have repeatedly defended the data-gathering project, saying it was necessary to train AI systems to operate computer software the way humans do and that employees were the best examples for the artificial intelligence to learn from.
A former employee actively involved in pushing back against MCI describes the lapse as 'a mess' — and one that employees had expected would occur.
After critical comments poured into internal forums on Monday expressing frustration about the security issue, Meta shocked some of its staff by pausing MCI altogether, telling WI.L.

Source: WIRED Read the original →

WRITTEN BY

Marcus Feld

AI Business & Markets

Marcus reports on AI funding, acquisitions, partnerships, and the business behind the technology.