Meta spokesperson Andy Stone asked for comment on the matter and pointed Reuters to an earlier statement the company had issued on the mouse-tracking technology.
“If we’re building agents to help people complete everyday tasks using computers, our models need real examples of how people actually use them — things like mouse movements, clicking buttons, and navigating dropdown menus,” it said.
The pamphlets and the petition both cite the US National Labor Relations Act, saying “workers are legally protected when they choose to organise for the improvement of working conditions.”
In the UK, a group of Meta employees has started organising a drive for unionisation with United Tech and Allied Workers (UTAW), a branch of the Communication Workers Union.
The employees set up a website to recruit members using the URL “Leanin.uk,” a reference to former Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg’s best-selling book encouraging women to seek equal footing in the workplace.
A UTAW representative confirmed the UK campaign to Reuters.
“Meta’s workers are paying the price for management’s reckless and expensive bets. While executives chase speculative AI strategies, staff are facing devastating job cuts, draconian surveillance, and the cruel reality of being forced to train the inefficient systems being positioned to replace them,” said Eleanor Payne, an organiser with UTAW.
