Meta To Use Public Posts On Facebook, Instagram In UK To Train AI

Following a regulatory backlash in the UK, Meta Platforms will begin training its AI models using public content shared by adults on Facebook and Instagram in the country over the coming months. The update comes after the company paused the training in Europe in mid-June after the Irish privacy regulator told Meta to delay its plan to procure data from social media posts.

Meta Platforms will use public posts, including photos, captions, and comments, to train its generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) models. Private messages or information from accounts of users under the age of 18 will not be included in the training content, it said on Friday.

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Both Facebook and Instagram users in the UK will begin receiving in-app notifications starting from next week explaining the company’s procedure and how users can object to their data being used for the training, added Meta.

Since it paused launching its AI models in June, the company has made changes in its approach. Britain’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) stated that Meta had simplified the way users can object to the processing of their data and has extended the window in which they can do so.

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Meta faced backlash in June from advocacy group NOYB—European Centre for Digital Rights, which urged national privacy watchdogs in Europe to prevent such use of social media content. It argued that the notifications were insufficient to meet the EU’s stringent privacy and transparency rules.