Meta has suspended its Model Compatibility Initiative (MCI) — a contentious employee-monitoring program — after a security incident exposed potentially sensitive collected data to unauthorized internal staff.
"We have carefully designed this program with privacy safeguards and while we have no indication at this time that any data was improperly accessed by Meta employees, we're pausing it while we investigate." — Tracy Clayton, Meta spokesperson
What Is the MCI?
Rolled out to US employees in April, MCI collects a broad range of computer activity, including:
- Mouse movements and click locations
- Keystrokes
- Screen content
Meta executives defended the program as essential for training AI systems to operate software the way humans do — arguing employees represented ideal training examples. When MCI launched, opt-out was not available; that changed only after workers organized protests.
The Security Incident
On Monday, June 23, a Meta engineer issued an internal security notice revealing that MCI databases had been exposed to anyone inside the company. According to VP of AI Research Stephane Kasriel, the vulnerability was discovered on June 18 and initially patched within four hours — but the fix didn't hold, requiring further access restrictions.
Kasriel described the lapse as making "some MCI-derived data" accessible to more people than intended, without offering specifics.
Employee Reaction
Workers who had already been organizing against MCI described the breach as predictable.
"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. Leadership has clearly created an authoritarian environment where workers are no longer respected or heard." — former Meta employee involved in MCI opposition
After critical comments flooded internal forums, Meta paused the program — notifying WIRED before informing its own staff. Several employees reported confusion because MCI continued running on their laptops in the interim.
What Happens Next?
Kasriel stated the program will only resume when Meta is "confident in the effectiveness" of its data protection controls. He also signaled the company would share more details about MCI's future, noting it had now "gathered sufficient data to assess the long-term value of the tool" — a phrase that drew further scrutiny from employees watching the situation unfold.
