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| Meta Facebook and Instagram parent company |
Plans by Meta, Facebook and Instagram's parent company, to use public posts and images for AI training have faced criticism from digital rights groups. Meta recently notified UK and European users that their public data, including posts, images, captions, comments, and Stories (excluding private messages), could be used to "develop and improve" AI tools starting June 26.
Noyb, a European digital rights advocacy group, labeled Meta's use of years of user content as an "abuse of personal data for AI" and lodged complaints with 11 European data protection authorities, urging them to halt these plans. Meta maintains that its methods comply with privacy laws and align with other tech companies' practices.
In a May 22 blog post, Meta explained that European user data would enhance its generative AI by providing diverse training data. The company highlighted the necessity of culturally and linguistically relevant information for developing AI features.
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| Facebook and Instagram social media |
Tech firms are increasingly seeking varied data to improve AI models. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasized the importance of the firm's "unique data" for its AI strategy during a February earnings call, noting the vast amount of publicly shared images, videos, and text posts available for training.
Meta's notification to UK and European users about the data usage change, which users must actively opt-out of, has been criticized for its complexity. Noyb co-founder Max Schrems argued that Meta should require user consent rather than making opting out difficult. Meta insists the process is legally compliant and similar to those of other companies. However, the Irish Data Protection Commission is investigating a complaint from Noyb regarding these practices.
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