The European Center for Digital Rights, known as Noyb, has lodged complaints in 11 European countries, attempting to halt Meta’s plan to begin training new AI technologies on the personal posts and pictures of Facebook and Instagram users based in the European Union. Noyb contends that Meta’s latest privacy policy permits the company to leverage both public and non-public user data acquired since 2007 for an array of undefined AI purposes. In a press release, Noyb argued, “once their data [is] in the system, users seem to have no option of ever having it removed.”
Meta’s collection efforts are not limited to its platforms. The data used for AI training will also come from third parties and from user interactions with Meta’s generative AI features and pages. Even individuals who are not on Facebook or Instagram but appear in posts or photos will have their information collected. The exclusion applies solely to private messages exchanged between friends and family. On Meta’s blog, the company indicated that private messages to businesses are fair game, and any collected data for AI training could be shared with third parties.
Users in the EU were given until June 26 to opt out of this data processing. Noyb claims that the option to opt out has been deliberately complicated by using “dark patterns” aimed at making it difficult for users to prevent their data from being utilized. In response, Noyb has urged data protection authorities across the EU to intervene swiftly. The organization warns that, beyond June 26, personal data cannot be removed from Meta’s AI models and states, “there will be no way back.”
Meta argues that the collection of personal data is crucial for training AI services that mirror the diverse cultures and languages of European communities. The company says this initiative will support the creation of content including text, audio, images, and videos. Meta’s AI privacy page notes, “We keep training data for as long as we need it on a case-by-case basis to ensure an AI model is operating appropriately, safely, and efficiently.”
Noyb estimates that over 400 million EU users could be affected by Meta’s data processing activities, including many who have abandoned their accounts and may be unaware of the new data use policies. For further reading, see the full article on Ars Technica.