Meta Allows AI Training on User Content, Offers EU Users Opt-out Choice
Meta Platforms, the tech giant that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has granted itself authority to use user posts for artificial intelligence (AI) training. However, only users within the European Union (EU) have the privilege to deny the company access to their data.
In an effort to stay within the stringent data privacy laws in the EU, Meta has chosen not to include European user-generated content in its AI training data. The company stated, “To effectively serve our European communities, Meta’s AI models need to be trained using current information which reflects Europe’s different languages, geographical locations, and cultural intricacies. To achieve this, we aim to train our large language models that power AI capabilities using content that people in the EU choose to publicly post in Meta’s products and services.”
Measures Taken by Meta
Meta has taken certain steps to strengthen its position. The company clarified that “public content”, such as posts, comments, photos, and other materials posted on its social media platforms by users over 18 years old would be used for AI training. Personal messages are excluded. The company also noted that it began notifying European users about the new terms of service, which allows the use of their data for AI training, on May 22, with the updated terms coming into effect on June 26. Any European user can opt out of this, no questions asked, and their data will not be included in the information used for AI training now or in the future.
Opt-out Option Not Available for Non-EU Users
Meta does not offer this option to users from other regions. The company’s LLaMa 3 model was trained without user consent and now users outside the EU are merely informed about the inclusion of their data in training datasets without being given the option to opt out. Notably, European data protection organization NOYB (None Of Your Business) has opposed this initiative, emphasizing that social media users must explicitly agree to have their data used for AI training, rather than being required to take additional steps to opt out.
Meta-EU Relations Under Strain
Relations between Meta and EU authorities have strained recently. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram are facing scrutiny related to the online content that poses a threat to the safety of minors, and any detected violations could result in hefty fines for the company.
