Workers at Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, started a protest against new software that tracks their mouse movements. On Tuesday, employees in several U.S. offices gave out flyers and collected signatures for an online petition. They say the company is collecting information about their daily computer use without permission.

Many workers are worried their mouse movements and behaviour are being used to help train artificial intelligence (AI) systems. They believe these systems may one day automate their jobs and replace human employees.

Meta said tracking data is needed to develop better AI tools and improve work efficiency. The company recently announced plans to reduce its global workforce by 10%, which means about 8,000 job cuts starting 20 May.