Meta Delays Launch Of AI Model In Europe, Here's Why

JAKARTA - Meta Platforms Inc., announced that they will not launch an AI model in Europe for now. This comes after Irish privacy regulators asked the company to postpone plans for data usage from Facebook and Instagram users.

This decision was taken after complaints and requests from the NOYB advocacy group to data protection authorities in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Spain to act against the company.

The main problem is Meta's plans to use personal data to train their artificial intelligence (AI) models without seeking approval, although the company has stated it will use publicly available and licensed information online.

Meta on Friday, June 14, said Irish privacy watchdog had asked him to postpone training for major language models (LLM) using public content shared by Facebook and Instagram adult users.

"We are disappointed with the request from the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), our main regulator, on behalf of the European DPA... especially as we have included regulatory feedback and the European DPA has been notified since March," the company said in a blog post update.

Meta says that Ireland's demand is a step back for innovation and competition in Europe in AI development. "Simplely, without including local information, we can only offer a bad experience. This means we can't launch Meta AI in Europe right now," Meta said.

The DPC welcomes Meta's decision to postpone. They said that the decision was taken after intensive engagement with regulators. Meta said the delay in launching their AI model also allowed them to handle requests from the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

ICO welcomes Meta's decision, saying that it will continue to monitor the principal developers of generative AI, including Meta, to review the protection measures they have implemented and ensure user information rights in the UK are protected.

The chairman of NOYB, Max Schrems, attributed Meta's temporary suspension to the group's complaint filed last week. "So far there has been no official change to Meta's privacy policy, which will make this commitment legally binding. The case we submitted is ongoing and requires determination," he said in a statement.