Meta faced 11 complaints regarding proposed changes. These changes involve using personal data for training artificial intelligence models without asking for consent, potentially violating European Union privacy regulations.
Let’s take a look at the details.
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The advocacy group NOYB (none of your business) called on national privacy watchdogs to take immediate action to stop Meta’s proposed use of personal data. They raised concerns that recent changes in Meta’s privacy policy, scheduled to take effect on June 26, would permit the company to utilise extensive personal content such as posts, private images, and online tracking data for its AI technology, reports Reuters.
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NOYB has previously filed numerous complaints against Meta and other major tech companies, citing potential violations of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This regulation carries the threat of fines of up to 4% of a company’s total global turnover for violations.
Meta has claimed a legitimate interest in utilising user data to train and advance its generative AI models and other AI tools which can be shared with third parties.
Max Schrems, founder of NOYB, stated that Europe’s highest court had already addressed this matter in 2021.
“The European Court of Justice (CJEU) has already made it clear that Meta has no ‘legitimate interest’ to override users’ right to data protection when it comes to advertising,” he said.
“Yet the company is trying to use the same arguments for the training of undefined ‘AI technology’. It seems that Meta is once again blatantly ignoring the judgements of the CJEU,” Schrems said, noting that opting out was very complicated.
“Shifting the responsibility to the user is completely absurd. The law requires Meta to get opt-in consent, not to provide a hidden and misleading opt-out form,” Schrems added.
He further mentioned that if Meta wants to use user data, they must ask for permission rather than forcing users to request exclusion.
