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Users from the EU can opt out of Meta's AI data use, but they'll have to justify their request

Matthias Bastian
Matthias Bastian View the LinkedIn Profile of Matthias Bastian
May 25, 2024
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Meta is notifying Facebook and Instagram users in Europe via in-app notifications of changes to its privacy policy, effective June 26.

The company says it has a "legitimate interest" in using user data such as posts, comments, audio, and messages to businesses to train its AI models. Private messages to friends and family are excluded, but not mentions of your name or pictures of other users that show you.

You can opt out (Facebook / Instagram), but you'll need to explain how Meta's use of your data affects you personally. However, a reference to the GDPR should suffice here. Meta says it will stop using your data after a positive review of your request.

Meta is showing a pop-up that says user data will be used for AI training unless the user objects. | Image: Screenshot via Meta

Meta's approach of using user data for AI training isn't new. They've also trained the Meta AI assistant using publicly accessible texts and images from Facebook and Instagram. The texts were fed into the Llama language model, and the images into the Emu AI image generator. Meta's chief lobbyist Nick Clegg also said that data entered into Meta AI can be used for AI training.

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The EU authorities will probably look into whether there's a "legitimate interest" here and whether the opt-out procedure is set up properly soon.

A new interim report by the EU data protection authorities shows that OpenAI's ChatGPT is still viewed critically, especially when it comes to entering personal data in prompts and deleting personal data from models. The operators are responsible for both, and technical difficulties aren't an excuse for breaking data protection rules.

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