Meta has confirmed that it is relaunching efforts to train its AI systems using public Facebook and Instagram posts from its UK user base.
The announcement comes three months after Facebook's parent company suspended the plan due to regulatory pressure in the UK. The UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has expressed concerns that the company may use UK user data to train AI-generated algorithms. The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), Meta's lead regulator in the European Union (EU), has also opposed Meta's plans after receiving feedback from multiple data protection authorities in the EU. There is no word yet on whether or when Meta will resume its EU AI training activities.
Meta said it has “incorporated feedback from regulators” to make its efforts “even more transparent,” and starting next week users will see a notification in the app explaining its efforts. The company plans to start training its AI with public content in the coming months.
“This means our generative AI models will reflect British culture, history and idiom, enabling British businesses and institutions to take advantage of the latest technology,” the company said in a blog post. “At Meta, we're building AI that reflects diverse communities around the world, and we look forward to launching in even more countries and languages later this year.”
Objection
Initially, much of the controversy was centered around how Meta allowed users to opt out. Rather than directly offering users an “opt in/out” checkbox, the company made them jump through hoops to find an objection form hidden behind multiple clicks and taps, at which point they were forced to state why they did not want their data to be processed. Whether this request would be honored was entirely at Meta's discretion, but the company publicly announced that it would honor all requests.
Facebook “Dispute” form Image credit: Meta / Screenshot
This time, Meta is adopting an appeal form, where users still need to formally appeal to Meta and tell them that they do not want their data to be used to improve Meta's AI systems, but users who have previously appealed do not need to submit an appeal again.
The company says it has taken feedback from the ICO into account and has now simplified the complaint form, but has not yet explained how.
This is a developing story, please update for the latest information.