Meta to start capturing employee mouse movements, keystrokes for AI training • Hacker News Board

Re: Meta to start capturing employee mouse movements, keystrokes for AI training

#191

Post by zeroonetwothree » Tue, Apr 21, 2026, 10:51 PM UTC

BeetleB wrote: post #97

kridsdale1 wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I insulted him in my mandatory Exit Interview form from HR when I resigned. It had no impact of recruiters trying to win me back since then.

> I insulted him in my mandatory Exit Interview form from HR when I resigned. How can they legally mandate an exit interview when you resigned? Is it part of the employment contract? What would have happened if you showed them the finger and not participated?

Nothing happens, it’s optional. However if you want to be able to be rehired it doesn’t hurt to do it. It doesn’t take long and you don’t really have to say anything.

Re: Meta to start capturing employee mouse movements, keystrokes for AI training

#192

Post by sho_hn » Tue, Apr 21, 2026, 10:51 PM UTC

BeetleB wrote: post #96

dagmx wrote: post #42

This is going to be a huge chilling factor for employees. You’d no longer be able to disent, or discuss anything non-work related with even the slightest expectation of privacy. Yes they could have accessed logs before but there’s a difference between directed checking after incidents and active surveillance at scale.

> You’d no longer be able to disent, or discuss anything non-work related with even the slightest expectation of privacy. When I joined the workforce a long time ago, I went in with the mindset that: Their property, their equipment, their right to monitor (or even keylog). I was pleasantly surprised to find that not to be the case, but I've always believed in their right to do so. Why do people expect to have a right…

Engineers build tools for other people. The profession exists in support of human life. We make the substrate that civilization runs on.

If humans are the point, this also goes for keeping work environments humane.

Re: Meta to start capturing employee mouse movements, keystrokes for AI training

#193

Post by bsilvereagle » Tue, Apr 21, 2026, 10:51 PM UTC

Blackthorn wrote: post #169

dagmx wrote: post #42

This is going to be a huge chilling factor for employees. You’d no longer be able to disent, or discuss anything non-work related with even the slightest expectation of privacy. Yes they could have accessed logs before but there’s a difference between directed checking after incidents and active surveillance at scale.

Couldn't have happened to a more deserving group of people. My irony detector is sparking so badly I think it's about to blow.

There are large organizations at Meta focused on basic research & design (FAIR, Open Compute, PyTorch, etc) and giving back to the community. Not everyone is maximizing revenue.

Re: Meta to start capturing employee mouse movements, keystrokes for AI training

#194

Post by darth_avocado » Tue, Apr 21, 2026, 10:51 PM UTC

lotsofpulp wrote: post #76

darth_avocado wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am to speculate that they are going to use this as an excuse to let people go without doing mass layoffs and having to pay severance. Training AI is just an excuse.

White collar firms with a reputation for paying well don’t cheap out on severance. It’s a cheap way to get employees to sign some stuff reducing the risk of lawsuits, plus their unemployment insurance premiums stay lower. It’s only once the business is having a cash crunch or will no longer need to hire competitive candidates that they start letting people go without severance.

> White collar firms with a reputation for paying well don’t cheap out on severance

Tell that to Elon Musk and Twitter employees.

Re: Meta to start capturing employee mouse movements, keystrokes for AI training

#195

Post by Barrin92 » Tue, Apr 21, 2026, 10:51 PM UTC

dist-epoch wrote: post #43

loeg wrote: post #34

For context, when the article says "a list of work-related apps and websites," this includes Google properties like gmail, docs, etc, and social media websites like Facebook and Instagram, with no provision for excluding personal accounts.

You know you are at work and monitored. You can browser personal accounts from your phone.

>You know you are at work and monitored.

unless you're in a jurisdiction that has anti-surveillance workplace laws, which if you don't should probably think about before Mark Zuckerberg gets the idea to monitor to your body temperature from below the waistline

Re: Meta to start capturing employee mouse movements, keystrokes for AI training

#196

Post by simmerup » Tue, Apr 21, 2026, 10:54 PM UTC

seanp2k2 wrote: post #180

simmerup wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Until the day when Zuckerberg meets you, and his Ray Ban glasses profile your face and pull up that comment on your exit interview as pertinent information. His eyes glaze over and he just reads that instead in his corner vision instead of listening to you, and you get snubbed forever more

As if you would ever be afforded an audience in the first place.

True, was thinking while writing that that was the most unlikely thing in the story which is wild

Re: Meta to start capturing employee mouse movements, keystrokes for AI training

#197

Post by sho_hn » Tue, Apr 21, 2026, 10:57 PM UTC

satvikpendem wrote: post #102

jaapz wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There shouldn't be any expectation of privacy? There absolutely should!

On a work computer? No there shouldn't and isn't.

In most civilized countries you absolutely do have significant rights to privacy on a work computer.

Re: Meta to start capturing employee mouse movements, keystrokes for AI training

#198

Post by kingleopold » Tue, Apr 21, 2026, 10:57 PM UTC

kridsdale1 wrote: post #61

HoldOnAMinute wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are they merging with Palantir any time soon?

Meta people used to protest and demand Thiel be removed from the board all the time, in the 2010s. But it’s probably not like that anymore.

fun fact: they all made above $1-2 million, some even a lot more via meta stock. so after that they stopped doing that kind of thing. ethics can be bought it just have different price everyone.

Re: Meta to start capturing employee mouse movements, keystrokes for AI training

#199

Post by dlev_pika » Tue, Apr 21, 2026, 10:57 PM UTC

bsilvereagle wrote: post #193

Blackthorn wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Couldn't have happened to a more deserving group of people. My irony detector is sparking so badly I think it's about to blow.

There are large organizations at Meta focused on basic research & design (FAIR, Open Compute, PyTorch, etc) and giving back to the community. Not everyone is maximizing revenue.

I guess Palantir is cool as long as they keep the queer interest group going

Re: Meta to start capturing employee mouse movements, keystrokes for AI training

#200

Post by loeg » Tue, Apr 21, 2026, 10:59 PM UTC

lokar wrote: post #94

loeg wrote: post #34

For context, when the article says "a list of work-related apps and websites," this includes Google properties like gmail, docs, etc, and social media websites like Facebook and Instagram, with no provision for excluding personal accounts.

At meta your personal FB account is your work account. I had to create one to get paid. It’s the same identity used in internal systems.

Yes, but, so what? It isn't a license to train AI on employee personal information.

That said -- social media websites were later removed from the "work-related" list. So there was at least some recognition it was overreach and did not match the stated justification.