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The company initially received backlash back in June before an intervention from the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
Meta has announced that it will begin training its AI models using public content shared by users on Facebook and Instagram in the UK, having paused the training in June due to regulatory clashes.
The company intends to start this process in the coming months, with customers of their platforms to be informed via in-app notification.
Meta argues that the use of this training will allow the company’s AI models to better reflect British culture, history, and language. In reality, of course, this is more about accessing the many millions of posts that will help to enhance their product offerings and maintaining a competitive edge against rival models.
The decision follows discussions with the ICO after Meta paused its AI training in the UK to address regulatory concerns. Meta has since received clarity from the ICO, which confirmed that using public data under the legal basis of “Legitimate Interests” is acceptable. As a result, Meta expects its AI models to launch in the UK sooner than originally planned.
Stephen Almond, Executive Director Regulatory Risk at the ICO has released the following statement:
“Meta has since [since June] made changes to its approach, including making it simpler for users to object to the processing and providing them with a longer window to do so. Meta has now taken the decision to resume its plans and we will monitor the situation as Meta moves to inform UK users and commence processing in the coming weeks.”
“We have been clear that any organisation using its users’ information to train generative AI models needs to be transparent about how people’s data is being used. Organisations should put effective safeguards in place before they start using personal data for model training, including providing a clear and simple route for users to object to the processing. The ICO has not provided regulatory approval for the processing and it is for Meta to ensure and demonstrate ongoing compliance.”
Meta remains under scrutiny from various regulators over its handling of consumer data, particularly in Europe where the rollout of its Generative AI products remain paused as a result of regulatory inquiry.
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