Regulation
Meta suspends launch of European AI assistant due to regulatory objections
Meta said it would delay the launch and training of its AI assistant in Europe following a request from the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC).
According to a June 10 In its statement, the regulator asked Meta to postpone extended language model (LLM) training involving public content that adults share on Facebook and Instagram.
The Irish DPC acts as Meta’s primary privacy regulator in the EU and issued the request on behalf of the European Data Protection Authorities (DPA).
The lack of local information means users would receive a “second-rate experience”.
Meta said:
“This means we are unable to launch Meta AI in Europe at this time.”
Meta said it was “disappointed” by the request and called it a “step backwards” for AI competition and innovation in the EU. The company added that it is confident of complying with European regulations.
The Irish CPD approved the training break. He said he “welcomed the decision” and would continue to work with Meta following previous “intensive engagement”.
NOYB, European non-profit organization responsible for the protection of privacy says that Complaints from itself, other organizations such as the Norwegian Consumer Council and some DPAs led the Irish DPC to call for Meta’s activities to be suspended.
Situation developed over the months
Meta said on June 14 that it had informed European DPAs of its activities since March.
However, the situation developed after Meta began notifying users about its AI training activities through more than two billion in-app notifications and emails on May 22.
NOYB sent complaints to 11 DPCs on June 6.
On June 10, Meta noted consultations with the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) and said it had incorporated the feedback to ensure its AI training complied with AI laws.
Meta noted that Google and OpenAI already use AI for training user data. The company hopes to comply with EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws on the legal basis of “legitimate interest,” a flexible provision that other AI industry players rely on leaned on.