Meta pauses model capability initiative after employee privacy concerns
Technology
Meta has temporarily stopped its Model Capability Initiative (MCI), which tracked employees' keyboard and mouse activity to train AI.
The move comes after workers raised privacy concerns, especially since there was no way to opt out when the program launched in April 2026.
MCI leak exposed private conversations
Things escalated when a data leak in late June 2026 revealed that private conversations from MCI were accessible across the company.
Over 1,800 employees signed a petition, shared memes, and gave the screen-recording icon used by MCI the nickname "Eye of Sauron."
Meta suspended MCI within hours of the leak but says it might bring it back as an optional feature in the future.