AI launch in the EU is postponed by Meta due to data privacy issues

The European Union and the United Kingdom’s user data will no longer be used by Meta to train its AI systems, the company has said.

The social media behemoth stated in a blog post on Friday that this decision was made in response to strong opposition from data protection authorities in both regions.

On behalf of almost a dozen data protection agencies throughout the EU, the Irish Data Protection Commission, Meta’s principal regulator, led the resistance.

Concerns raised by the DPC mostly relate to possible privacy consequences of exploiting user data for AI training.

The Information Commissioner’s Office in the UK also asked Meta to put a stop to its plans until further notice. In order to guarantee adherence to data protection regulations, the ICO emphasized the necessity of thorough assessments.

“We’re disappointed by the request from the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), our lead regulator, on behalf of the European DPAs, to delay training our large language models (LLMs) using public content shared by adults on Facebook and Instagram — particularly since we incorporated regulatory feedback and the European DPAs have been informed since March,” Meta noted.

The business predicted that the move will further impede European innovation and competitiveness in AI research, as well as cause more delays in the use of AI by the continent’s citizens.

Meta has emphasized its transparency in comparison to its industry peers and stated confidence that its method to AI training conforms with European laws and regulations.

In spite of this, the business has said that it will postpone the introduction of Meta AI in Europe because of persistent regulatory worries.

Meta emphasized how crucial it is to incorporate local knowledge in order to deliver a top-notch customer experience.

The AI service would not be up to grade without this data, according to the business, which is why the European rollout has been put on hold.

“We are committed to bringing Meta AI, along with the models that power it, to more people around the world, including in Europe. But, put simply, without including local information, we’d only be able to offer people a second-rate experience. This means we aren’t able to launch Meta AI in Europe at the moment.”

Once regulatory concerns are sufficiently addressed, Meta restated its commitment to making cutting-edge AI models available to consumers throughout the world, including Europe.