Meta Gains Approval to Train AI Models on UK Users' Public Posts

Meta to Train AI Models Using Public U.K. Facebook and Instagram Posts

Meta has announced that it will begin training its artificial intelligence (AI) systems using public content shared by adult users across Facebook and Instagram in the U.K. in the coming months. "This means that our generative AI models will reflect British culture, history, and idiom, and that UK companies and institutions will be able to utilize the latest technology," the social media behemoth said. As part of the process, users aged 18 and above are expected to receive in-app notifications starting this week on both Facebook and Instagram, explaining its modus operandi and how they can readily access an objection form to deny their data being used to train the company's generative AI models. The company said it will honor users' choices and that it won't contact users who have already objected to their data being used for their purpose. It also noted that it will not include private messages with friends and family, as well as information from accounts of minors. Furthermore, Meta said the outcome is the result of its engagement with the U.K. Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and its guidance supporting Meta's implementation of the legal basis of Legitimate Interests, which it said is a valid mechanism for using first-party data to train its AI models. "While our original approach was more transparent than our industry counterparts, we've incorporated feedback from the ICO to make our objection form even simpler, more prominent and easier to find," Meta added. It's worth noting that Meta has paused similar efforts in the European Union following a request from the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) as of June 2024. It called the move a "step backwards for European innovation." Austrian privacy non-profit noyb has since accused the company of shifting the burden on users - i.e., making it opt-out as opposed to opt-in - and failing to provide adequate information on how the company is planning to use the publicly-accessible Facebook and Instagram data. The development comes as Meta suspended the use of generative AI in Brazil after the country's data protection authority issued a preliminary ban objecting to its new privacy policy. The ICO, in response to Meta's plans, said it intends to monitor the situation as the company notifies users and begins processing their data. "We have been clear that any organization using its users' information to train generative AI models needs to be transparent about how people's data is being used," Stephen Almond, executive director of regulatory risk at the ICO, said. "Organizations should put effective safeguards in place before they start using personal data for model training, including providing a clear and simple route for users to object to the processing. The ICO has not provided regulatory approval for the processing and it is for Meta to ensure and demonstrate ongoing compliance."

Meta To Use UK Users' Public Posts To Train AI

Meta announced that it will begin training its AI models using public content shared by adults on Facebook and Instagram in the UK after engaging with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data protection authority. Earlier in June, the company delayed the training of its AI models on public data from its platforms after the ICO and the Irish Data Protection opened an inquiry into its practices. Now, the ICO has stated that it will continue to monitor major generative AI developers like Meta to review the safeguards they have put in place. The tech giant has maintained that it will not use people's private messages to train AI. It has also stated that it will not use information from people's accounts that state they are under the age of 18. It will, however, use public information such as public posts and comments, or public photos and captions to train its AI models. Meta has stated that adult Facebook and Instagram users based in the UK will receive an in-app notification to explain its data collection process. It will include directions on how users can access an objection form that they can fill out at any time to object to Meta using their data to train AI models. The company had shared these forms with users in June when it first shared that it would start training AI models on public data. It stated that it would not contact people again who have already objected. In June, Advocacy group None Of Your Business (NOYB) filed 11 complaints against Meta when it shared that it would be changing its privacy policy to allow its AI to train using public user data. It stated that Meta violated the EU's data protection rules, the GDPR, as it did not give users any information about how their data would be used to train future AI models. Meta argued that it had a 'legitimate interest' in processing first and third-party data to build its AI services, which is a legal basis for processing personal data under the GDPR. However, NOYB pointed out that the European Court of Justice had previously rejected the legitimate interest argument when Meta tried to make a similar case for using all personal data for advertising. Following this, the Irish Data Protection Commission delayed the launch of Meta's AI model in June to investigate Meta's data collection practices. Meta said that it was "disappointed" in the EU's regulatory action and called it a "step backwards for European innovation, competition in AI development and further delays bringing the benefits of AI to people in Europe." The Mark Zuckerberg-owned company also argued that companies like Google and OpenAI rely on European user data to train their AI models, implying that it's common practice. Meta also stated that its 'opt-out' approach was "more transparent and offers easier controls than many of our industry counterparts already training their models on similar publicly available information."