The Dutch watchdog Autoriteit Personsgegevens (AP) has become the latest regulator to warn Meta‘s Facebook and Instagram users that they should object if they do not want their public data to be used to train Meta’s AI tool.
The AP said it was “very concerned” about plans by Meta and other major platforms to train their tools using user data.
“It has not yet been decided whether Meta is permitted to do what the company plans to do,” the statement said, adding that “it remains questionable whether Meta is permitted to do what it plans to do.” “Among other things, it is questionable whether Meta’s opt-out model is in line with legal requirements. The FCA and other European supervisors are consulting closely with the Irish supervisor on this matter.”
Meta announced the rollout of Meta AI across the EU earlier this month, after it was launched in the US in September 2023.
Its plan to continue expansion in Europe was halted last summer due to “regulatory unpredictability.” The Irish Data Protection Commission asked the company to postpone the launch because it planned to use the data of adult Facebook and Instagram users to train its large language models (LLMs).
This is stated in a statement by Monique Verdier, vice chairman of the Dutch regulator: “The risk is that as a user you lose control over your personal data. Have you ever posted something on Instagram or Facebook, and that data will soon be in an artificial intelligence model without knowing exactly what will happen to it?”
If users do not object to this until May 27, Meta will automatically use their public data to train the AI.
Earlier, similar warnings were issued by the German data protection regulator Hamburg and the Belgian privacy watchdog.
Markus Reinisch, vice president of public policy for Europe at Meta, said at a Euronews event on Thursday that the tools do “need to be regulated,” for example, to protect the fundamental rights of citizens.
“The big problem is that well-intentioned regulation is being implemented in a discriminatory way that harms our business models. The problem is the singling out of certain companies,” he added.
Meta has been very vocal in its opposition to EU tech regulations since the US administration led by Donald Trump took office. Europe’s regulatory actions against American tech companies are pushing the continent “to the margins,” Joel Kaplan, Meta’s new head of global policy, said earlier this year.
