Meta employees protest mouse-tracking tool, launch petition

Meta employees at several U.S. offices posted flyers this month and opened a petition to protest the Model Capability Initiative, an internal program on work computers that records mouse movements, clicks, typed input and periodic screenshots.

The protest began on May 12. Flyers were left in meeting rooms, on vending machines and atop toilet paper dispensers, directing staff to a petition that demands Meta withdraw the program. Organizers described the action as the first coordinated public protest by U.S. staff since the initiative rolled out in April.

Meta installed the software on U.S. employee computers to collect behavioral data, the company has told staff. The program runs across hundreds of websites and applications, including Google, LinkedIn and Wikipedia, and captures interactions while employees use those sites and apps.

A Meta spokesperson told employees the recordings help train AI agents to mimic real human behavior online, citing inputs such as button clicks and dropdown selections.

Several employees described the program as ‘dystopian’ and raised concerns that the tool could capture sensitive information, including passwords, unreleased product details and personal data related to immigration status, health records and family matters. Some employees reported that consent procedures felt coercive given pending workforce reductions.

Meta has stated that filters and safeguards prevent the capture of certain sensitive content but has not provided full technical details about how those protections work or which data types are excluded. Staff have pressed the company for clearer explanations of how recorded material will be stored and used.

The petition and flyer campaign came days before planned layoffs. Chief people officer Janelle Gale announced in late April that Meta would eliminate 8,000 roles effective May 20 and would leave roughly 6,000 open positions unfilled as part of an efficiency initiative tied in part to AI investments.

Employees in the United Kingdom announced a separate organizing effort this week and are coordinating with the United Tech and Allied Workers union.

Meta has not indicated whether it will change or pause the Model Capability Initiative in response to the petition and the flyer campaign.