Meta Pauses Launch of AI Models in Europe Amid Privacy Concerns

Meta Platforms announced that it will not launch its Meta AI models in Europe for now, following a request from the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) to delay the company's plan to use user data for training AI systems. The decision comes in response to complaints filed by the European advocacy group noyb and calls to action from data protection authorities in several European countries.

The DPC welcomed Meta's decision, stating, "The DPC welcomes the decision by Meta to pause its plans to train its large language model using public content shared by adults on Facebook and Instagram across the EU/EEA. This decision followed intensive engagement between the DPC and Meta."

noyb's chair, Max Schrems, said, "We welcome this development, but will monitor this closely. So far there is no official change of the Meta privacy policy, which would make this commitment legally binding. The cases we filed are ongoing and will need a determination."

The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) also welcomed the move, with Stephen Almond, Executive Director of Regulatory Risk, stating, "We are pleased that Meta has reflected on the concerns we shared from users of their service in the UK, and responded to our request to pause and review plans to use Facebook and Instagram user data to train generative AI."