2024-07-03 18:01:14
Meta has postponed the launch of its AI in Europe. The reason for this is data protection debates surrounding the use of user data to train the AI.
- Meta has postponed AI deployment in Europe, data protection remains an issue.
- AI should use user data for training; data protection advocates demand explicit consent instead of the option to object.
- Until data protection concerns are resolved, Meta AI will remain unavailable in Europe.
Even though the US company behind Facebook and Instagram, Meta, has postponed the launch of its AI software in Europe for the time being, the so-called Meta AI is not completely off the table. Meta still believes that its approach complies with European laws and regulations. Data protection advocates see things differently.
What it’s about: The company wanted to use user posts on its social networks Facebook and Instagram for its artificial intelligence. However, data protection officers criticized the fact that users could only object to this, instead of being explicitly asked for their consent. Various instructions on how to object are circulating online.
The topic remains important for users – because it also sheds new light on the issue of data protection. Answers to important questions:
Similar to other AI software – for example ChatGPT – the Meta AI creates texts and images and can answer questions from its users. To ensure that this works as well as possible, the AI is trained with data – the more, the better. And for this training, Meta also wanted to use user posts from Facebook and Instagram.
For AI expert Gregor Schmalzried, this would be a competitive advantage over other AI providers simply because of the amount of usable data.
Another advantage that Meta would have from the posts from Facebook and Instagram: It is local data. “Many of the large language models have a certain bias towards the American world, simply because most of the data with which these models were trained comes from there,” explains Schmalzried.
One example of this is ChatGPT. “Sometimes you read a sentence that feels like it was translated word for word from English,” Schmalzried continues. You can tell that ChatGPT is primarily an English-language model. That’s different with Meta, which uses posts from all over the world to train the AI.
The company itself also emphasizes this. When Meta announced that it would postpone the launch of Meta AI in Europe, the company argued that it would not be able to offer users in Europe a first-class experience without training them with local data.
In countries such as the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, however, Meta AI is already available. It is also integrated into other Meta applications such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. Users can ask Meta AI questions there, which the AI should then answer. Unlike ChatGPT, the AI software also uses search engines such as Google and Bing.
- Read also: Consumer advice center warns Meta about AI training
The reason why things were different in Europe is due to data protection law. The company may have taken into account that things could be more difficult here: According to Schmalzried, European users were the only ones given the option to object to the use of their posts.
But even the opt-out option was not sufficient for the EU, according to data protection advocates. The Hamburg Data Protection Authority states: “In the case of truly private posts that were only shared in small groups, such a change in purpose would only be possible with the appropriate consent.”
In other words, Meta would have needed the explicit consent of users instead of just giving them the opportunity to object. The Federal Association of Consumer Organizations (vzbv) also criticized the fact that the objection was too complicated and that users had to justify it.
When it comes to public posts, European data protection authorities are currently still checking whether Meta also needs the active consent of users here. Meta, in turn, is convinced that it has a “legitimate interest” in training the AI models and can therefore use the data accordingly.
Important for Instagram and Facebook users to know: Although Meta has stopped the introduction of its AI in Europe for the time being, it is still possible for all users to object to the use of user data. The Federal Association of Consumer Organizations explains how to do this on its website.
- Read also: AI training with meta user data – How to object
In general, the Hamburg Data Protection Authority advises against transmitting personal data to an AI if the provider allows the use of the data for its own purposes in its terms and conditions.