Austrian privacy advocates NOYB filed complaints in 11 European countries on June 6, alleging that Meta is attempting to train artificial intelligence models using the personal data of its platform users. The legal action was prompted by Meta’s update to its privacy policy, which asked to take all user data, public and private, collected since 2007 (excluding individual chats) and use it for “artificial intelligence technology” both now and in the future.
Following an update to its privacy policy, Meta requested that all user data, both public and private, collected since 2007 (except private conversations between individuals) be used for “artificial intelligence technology” going forward, according to NOYB. This led to the legal action.
Within their respective privacy regulations, the Big Tech business said in a statement last week that it will start informing users in the UK and EU about how it will utilize “public information they have shared on Meta’s products and services to develop and improve AI at Meta.”
Users aren’t informed about the goals of the “AI technology,” according to NOYB, which is against the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regulations of the EU. Companies will need to depend on one of the six legal bases listed under the GDPR, such as opt-in consent, in order to process personal data in the EU.
As long as “AI technology” is used, Meta is essentially stating that it can utilize “any data from any source for any purpose and make it available to anyone in the world.” Clearly, GDPR compliance is not the same as this. “AI technology” is a rather general word. Like “using your data in databases,” it has no set legal limit, according to NOYB lawyer Max Schrems.
EU’s Urgency Procedure Over Meta’s Privacy Policy Implementation
According to Meta, “making sure that our approach complies with local privacy laws” is a fundamental component of its “commitment to developing AI responsibly.”
In accordance with EU data protection regulations, NOYB has asked for a “urgency procedure” in light of Meta’s policy’s June 26 implementation. About 4 billion Meta users’ personal information is at risk, according to the article, which makes the shift concerning.
Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Spain are among the EU nations where complaints have been made with privacy watchdogs. Complainants from other EU countries will follow in the coming days.
“Meta delayed the launch following a number of enquiries from the DPC which have been addressed,” the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) informed Euronews Next last week. The DPC stated that Meta provided users with four weeks’ notice prior to the first training.
With the release of Llama 3, the company’s own huge language model, Meta is able to power its assistant, Meta AI, which is currently unavailable in Europe.
Rejecting NOYB’s criticism, Meta pointed to a blog post from May 22 in which it stated that it trains AI using data that is licensed and freely available online, along with publicly published information about its products and services.
