Meta will not launch Meta AI in Europe for now
Meta Platforms has decided not to launch its artificial intelligence assistant, Meta AI, in Europe at this time. This decision comes in response to a request from the Irish privacy regulator regarding the use of user data collected from Facebook and Instagram, the social media company announced on Friday.
The move by Meta follows complaints and advocacy efforts by groups such as NOYB, prompting data protection authorities in multiple European countries to take action against the company. The primary concern revolves around Meta's intention to utilize personal data for training its AI models without explicit user consent, despite stating that only publicly available and licensed online information would be used.
Concerns and Response
Meta disclosed that the Irish privacy watchdog requested a halt to the training of its large language models (LLMs) using public content shared by adult users on Facebook and Instagram. The company expressed disappointment with this directive, noting that it had already incorporated regulatory feedback and kept European data protection authorities informed since March.
In a blog post update, Meta criticized the Irish Data Protection Commission's request, labeling it as a setback for innovation and competition in AI development within Europe. The company emphasized the importance of including local information to provide users with a top-quality experience, highlighting that the current restrictions prevent the launch of Meta AI in the European region.
Meta concluded by asserting that without access to relevant local data, their AI capabilities would be limited, ultimately impacting the service quality for European users.
Disclaimer: This article is a summary based on information available from Reuters. For further details, please refer to the original source.
