On Monday, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) said it has paused an internal AI training program after concerns emerged that sensitive employee information may have been accessible to a broad group of workers across the company.
Meta Pauses AI Data Collection Program
The social media giant confirmed it is temporarily halting its Model Capability Initiative, or MCI, while it investigates potential data security issues tied to the program, Reuters reported.
According to the report, MCI was launched in April to help train Meta’s artificial intelligence models by collecting information about how U.S.-based employees interacted with company systems.
The tool recorded mouse movements, clicks and keystrokes on work computers.
In an emailed statement to Benzinga, a Meta spokesperson said the company had built the initiative with privacy protections and currently has no indication that data was improperly accessed.
“We’re pausing it while we investigate,” the spokesperson added.
Internal Security Concerns Trigger Probe
The decision followed the filing of a high-priority internal security incident report after employees discovered that data gathered through the program may have been visible to a wider audience than intended.
Internal documents reviewed by the publication indicated the exposed information included AI prompts and transcripts, private conversations, employee performance-related information and internal sensitivity classifications.
While Meta said the pause is underway, a source told the publication that the system was still collecting information Monday afternoon, with the company noting that shutting down the program companywide would take time.
Employee Privacy Questions Surface
The latest development comes weeks after reports raised concerns that the initiative was gathering more information than originally described and storing some of it without encryption.
One employee involved in the internal discussion said they had accessed personal tax and medical information on their work computer and believed “many thousands” of workers had done the same.
The employee added that staff had been told the data would be protected and used only for legitimate business purposes after “aggressive filtering.”
Price Action: Shares of Meta closed Monday at $563.85, down 2.32% and slipped another 0.20% to $562.70 in after-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro.
According to Benzinga Edge Rankings, Meta ranks in the 88th percentile for growth, although the stock has faced weakness across short, medium and long-term trading periods.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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