Meta’s plan to use personal data for AI training without consent is under scrutiny, with privacy advocates demanding immediate action from EU regulators.
Main Points:
NOYB filed complaints in 11 EU countries against Meta’s data use for AI.
Meta defends its practices, citing compliance with privacy laws.
The European Court of Justice has previously ruled against similar practices.
Summary:
Meta faces significant backlash from privacy advocacy group NOYB over its plans to use personal data to train AI models without obtaining explicit user consent. NOYB has filed 11 complaints across various EU countries, urging immediate action to prevent Meta from implementing changes to its privacy policy on June 26. According to NOYB, Meta’s policy changes would allow it to use personal posts, images, and online tracking data for AI development, which violates user data protection rights.
Meta argues that its data usage practices comply with European privacy laws, aligning with the industry standards set by other tech companies like Google and OpenAI. However, NOYB highlights a 2021 European Court of Justice ruling that contradicts Meta’s stance, asserting that user consent is mandatory for such data utilization. NOYB founder Max Schrems criticizes Meta for shifting the burden of opting out onto users instead of seeking opt-in consent, calling the practice misleading and legally insufficient.
