Meta Might Need to Slow Down Its Ambitious AI Training Plans

A European advocacy group has lodged complaints in 11 countries regarding Meta's new AI policy. NOYB (None of Your Business) claims the policy permits Meta to scrape user data for AI training purposes. Unlike American users, Europeans have the option to opt out of sharing their information.

Advocacy Group Challenges Meta's AI Data Policy in Europe

Meta is racing to stay competitive in the AI landscape, but an advocacy group is urging nearly a dozen European countries to intervene and halt its plans.

The European advocacy group NOYB (None of Your Business) has filed complaints in 11 countries concerning Meta's forthcoming policy change. This policy would allow Meta to use historical user data from Facebook to train its AI models.  

According to NOYB, Meta intends to leverage years of personal posts, private images, and online tracking data for an unspecified "AI technology," potentially sharing this information with undefined "third parties." The group's press announcement calls for authorities to suspend this policy before it goes live in late June, affecting approximately 400 million European users. NOYB expresses concern that users will need to manually opt out to prevent their data from being used.

"Instead of seeking users' consent (opt-in), Meta claims a legitimate interest that overrides the fundamental right to data protection and privacy of European users," NOYB stated. Europe's stringent data privacy laws, outlined in the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), challenge this approach.

Complaints have been filed in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Spain.

While a Meta spokesperson did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment, the company previously told Reuters that it believes its policy complies with the law. "We are confident that our approach complies with privacy laws and is consistent with how other tech companies, including Google and OpenAI, are developing and improving their AI experiences in Europe," a Meta spokesperson said.

In the U.S., Meta AI has already utilized public user data and private chat conversations from Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, with no way for users to fully opt out, as reported by The Washington Post.