Norway DPA Warns of Meta AI Model Training and How to Avoid It
Meta will train its AI models using photos and posts from Facebook and Instagram users in the European Economic Area starting at the end of May, the Norwegian data protection authority warned Tuesday. It provided information about the training and what people can do about it.
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The AI training is aimed at developing and improving Meta's generative AI service, which is a kind of chatbot. Controversially, the company will employ users' content and interactions with Meta's AI services for the training, the DPA said.
The training will only involve photos, comments and posts that have been publicly published and are available to any user on or off Facebook or Instagram, the watchdog said. Meta will use only photos and posts published by users older than 18. The content will include historical and future information that's shared publicly.
Interactions with Meta services that could be used for the training include information entered into an AI chatbot or image-generation tools integrated into Meta Services, the DPA said. This data will be used regardless of the user's age.
Many people have voiced concerns about the legality of this activity, the DPA noted. Meta bases the training on legitimate interest, not consent, and believes its interest in training AI models outweighs users' rights.
Norway and other European DPAs have questioned Meta about its AI model training, the watchdog said. Among other things, authorities want clarification about whether such training is compatible with the original purpose for which the users' posts and photos were collected, and whether the AI model is trained on images of children in cases where the images are posted by users older than 18 years of age. "We are still waiting for answers to these questions," the DPA said.
People who don't want their posts and photos used can object, the DPA said. It included protest forms for Facebook and Instagram and explained how to use them. "You don't have to justify your protest," it said. "Meta has stated that it accepts all protests."
The DPA is already processing complaints about Meta's practices, it added.