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   German consumer protection group calls on Meta to halt its AI training in the   
   EU -- will other countries follow suit?   
      
   Date:   
   Mon, 12 May 2025 16:17:01 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   Public posts and user interactions are set to feed Meta AI training from May   
   27. Yet, privacy advocates are questioning its legality.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   A German consumer protection group is calling on Meta to halt its plan to   
   start training its AI models with EU users' data.    
      
   The Verbraucherzentrale North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) has sent a cease and   
   desist letter to the Big Tech giant on April 30, 2025, to demand that    
   Facebook and Instagram stop their AI training plans. The group also threatens   
   further legal action if Meta decides not to comply.    
      
   "It is imperative to act quickly, because once data has been incorporated    
   into AI, it is difficult to retrieve it," said Christine Steffen, data   
   protection expert at the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Advice Center, in an   
   official announcement .    
      
   All public posts and users' interactions are set to feed Meta AI starting    
   from May 27, 2025. If they don't wish this to happen, EU users need to   
   actively opt out.    
      
   An illegal approach?    
      
   Meta, the parent company that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp,   
   successfully launched Meta AI in the EU in March, almost a year after the    
   firm paused the launch amid growing concerns among EU data regulators .    
      
   In its official announcement , the company ensures that its approach complies   
   with European laws and regulations. "We welcome the opinion provided by the   
   EDPB in December, which affirmed that our original approach met our legal   
   obligations," Meta wrote.    
      
   Specifically, the EDPB opinion provides a guide to help the Irish Data   
   Protection Authority (DPA) assess the use of legitimate interest as a legal   
   basis for AI models.    
      
   German consumer experts, however, are now arguing that a reference to   
   legitimate interest is insufficient for Meta AI. They also point out how    
   users should not accept that the personal information they shared with Meta   
   over the years could now be used for AI training.    
      
   "Furthermore, it cannot be ruled out that particularly sensitive information,   
   which is particularly protected under the General Data Protection Regulation    
   ( GDPR ), is also used for AI training purposes," said Steffen. "In that    
   case, a so-called opt-out  as offered by Meta  is not sufficient; those   
   affected would have to actively consent to this."   
      
   Austrian privacy advocacy group noyb (None of Your Business) also believes   
   that Meta AI may not be compliant with GDPR laws.    
      
   "Meta is deliberately trying to ignore European law and is putting its   
   commercial interests above the fundamental right to data protection of those   
   affected," said noyb's co-founder and lawyer Max Schrems in an official   
   announcement , sharing his total support with Verbraucherzentrale NRW's   
   actions.    
      
   "Meta should simply ask the affected people for their consent. But if Meta   
   ignores EU law, there will be consequences for the whole of Europe," Schrems   
   added.    
      
   With the Meta AI officially kicking off in about two weeks ' time, we might   
   see more actions from other European consumer groups, privacy authorities, or   
   the DPA itself.    
      
   In the meantime, privacy experts like Proton, the provider behind one of the   
   best VPN and encrypted email apps, are urging people in Europe concerned    
   about their privacy to opt out of Meta AI training. "It's hard to predict    
   what this data might be used for in the future  better to be safe than    
   sorry," Proton wrote on a LinkedIn post .    
      
   If you are in the EU, you have until May 27 to stop Facebook and Instagram   
   from using any of your data to train their AI models. To do so, you need to   
   log in to your account and fill out an objection form (a form for Facebook    
   and one for Instagram ). A reason to object isn't required.   
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/computing/cyber-security/german-consumer-protection-   
   group-calls-on-meta-to-halt-its-ai-training-in-the-eu-will-other-countries-fol   
   low-suit   
      
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