Meta staff protest surveillance as layoffs loom: report

Flyers have appeared across Meta’s US offices as employees protest new surveillance software designed to train artificial intelligence, just days before the company begins cutting 10% of its workforce on May 20, according to a recent report by Reuters.

Known as the Model Capability Initiative, the tool records mouse movements, clicks, and keystrokes, and takes occasional screenshots of work-related applications, states an earlier report by Reuters on Meta's new employee surveillance system. Meta's Chief Technology Officer, Andrew Bosworth, previously informed staff that the data collection is part of the "Agent Transformation Accelerator" project, outlining a vision where AI agents perform the primary work, leaving humans to simply direct, review, and help them improve, as per the report.

Protesting staff placed pamphlets in meeting rooms, on vending machines, and atop toilet paper dispensers, describing the firm as an "employee data extraction factory", states the recent Reuters report. The flyers encourage colleagues to sign a petition against the software, which many employees believe is being used to help design their own digital replacements.

Meta spokesperson Andy Stone confirmed to Reuters that the data is used for model training rather than performance assessments, and noted that safeguards are in place for sensitive content. However, legal experts point out that while US federal law permits such monitoring, European regulations in countries like Italy and Germany would likely prohibit these practices.

The movement has spread to the UK, where workers are organising through the United Tech and Allied Workers union. Using the URL 'Leanin.uk', the group is recruiting members to challenge management.

Union organiser Eleanor Payne accused executives of pursuing speculative AI strategies while forcing staff to endure "draconian surveillance" to train the very systems intended to replace them, adds the Reuters report.

Meta’s job cuts follow similar reductions at Amazon and Block, reflecting a broader industry shift toward AI-driven restructuring.