Meta
will not launch the
Meta AI
models in Europe, the company has announced days after it updated its policy saying that it will be using
Facebook and Instagram
data to train its AI model. The Irish privacy regulator told the company to delay its plan to harness data from its social media platforms.
“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
and
— particularly since we incorporated regulatory feedback and the European DPAs have been informed since March.
This is a step backwards for European innovation, competition in AI development and further delays bringing the benefits of AI to people in Europe,” the company said.
Why Meta has been asked to pause Meta AI launch in the EU
In an announcement regarding the policy change, Meta said that it will use users’ publicly available data on Facebook and Instagram. This led to complaints by advocacy group NOYB to data protection authorities in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Spain to act against the company.
“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,” the company added.
Meanwhile, the DPC welcomed Meta’s pause, saying its decision came after intensive engagement with the regulator.
“We will continue to work collaboratively with the DPC so that people in Europe have access to – and are properly served by – the same level of AI innovation as the rest of the world,” Meta added.
This delay will also enable the company to address specific requests it has received from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), its UK regulator, ahead of starting the training.