Meta employees distributed flyers across multiple US offices on Tuesday to protest the company’s installation of mouse-tracking software on staff computers, according to photos of the pamphlets seen by Reuters.
The flyers were reportedly placed in meeting rooms, on vending machines, and even atop toilet paper dispensers at offices of the Facebook parent company. They urged workers to sign an online petition opposing the move.
The pamphlets included a message asking, “Don’t want to work at the Employee Data Extraction Factory?” according to the images reviewed.
The protest came about a week before Meta was expected to proceed with plans to lay off 10 percent of its workforce.
The incident marked one of the most visible signs yet of growing internal unrest, as some employees increasingly pushed back against the company’s restructuring efforts and its adoption of workplace monitoring tools linked to artificial intelligence development.
For months, Meta employees had expressed frustration on internal platforms and online forums over planned deep layoffs, which the company confirmed after Reuters first reported them.
Workers also criticised the introduction of mouse-tracking software, which they argued effectively turned their activity into training data for systems that could eventually replace them.
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone, responding to the controversy, referred to an earlier company statement defending the technology.
He said the system was necessary to develop AI agents capable of assisting users, explaining that models required real examples of how people use computers, including mouse movements, clicks, and navigation behaviour.
The pamphlets and accompanying petition cited the US National Labor Relations Act, arguing that employees were legally protected when organising to improve working conditions.
In the United Kingdom, Meta employees had also begun unionisation efforts with United Tech and Allied Workers (UTAW), a branch of the Communication Workers Union.
The group reportedly launched a recruitment website using the domain “Leanin.uk,” a reference to former Meta executive Sheryl Sandberg’s book encouraging workplace equality.
A UTAW representative confirmed the UK organising drive, accusing Meta of forcing employees to bear the cost of aggressive restructuring and surveillance-driven AI strategies.
The organiser said staff were facing job cuts and monitoring tools while being compelled to contribute to systems that could ultimately replace them.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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