Meta trains AI by tracking employee computer use, sparking data privacy concerns

Meta is rolling out a tool called MCI (Model Capability Initiative) to track how its US employees use their computers—like mouse movements, clicks, and menu actions—to train AI agents that can handle software tasks on their own. The tool can pull data from over 200 apps and websites.

Meta says MCI only affects US staff, but internal documents show that when a US employee chats or emails with a colleague outside the US, that conversation gets captured too. This has raised questions about data privacy and whether it follows the rules.

Privacy group NOYB says the project might break Europe's GDPR law because it collects European employee data without a clear legal reason, and the data was originally meant for work, not for AI training. Meta's main EU regulator in Ireland has been told that EU staff data isn't the tool's main target.

Irish civil liberties groups are calling for an investigation. Experts say this isn't just about Meta employees—it's about how all workers' data could be used for AI training and what rights they have to protect it.