Meta Confirms It’s Using Data from Adults Users in Australia for AI Training

Meta has publicly admitted that it has been using public data from adult Facebook and Instagram users in Australia to train its artificial intelligence models. The company also confirmed that there’s currently no way for users of these platforms in the country to opt out of having their content used for AI training .

The metaverse company confessed about its data scrape during a inquiry from the Australian senate on adopting AI (via ABC News). Melinda Claybaugh, Meta’s global privacy director initially refused to acknowledge the reality of the company’s AI training practices, but she eventually admitted that all public posts on Instagram and Facebook from Australian adults are being scraped for AI training. For Facebook, that applies to post published since 2007.

Claybaugh did confirm that Facebook and Instagram accounts from people under 18 were not used to train Meta’s AI models. However, Meta can still use pictures and videos of children posted by adults for AI training. Moreover, the Meta executive couldn’t say if the company was also scraping data from users who are now adults, but created their accounts and were active on the social platforms when they were still minors.

When asked why Meta doesn’t give Australian users the same option to opt out of the company’s AI training as users in the EU, Claybaugh explained that the company had to adapt to stricter privacy laws in the region. Meta recently delayed the launch of Meta AI in Europe after the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) requested the company to pause its plans to train its AI models using public content shared by adults in the region.

“In Europe there is an ongoing legal question around what is the interpretation of existing privacy law with respect to AI training,” Claybaugh said. “We have paused launching our AI products in Europe while there is a lack of certainty. So you are correct that we are offering an opt-out to users in Europe. I will say that the ongoing conversation in Europe is the direct result of the existing regulatory landscape.”

Speaking with ABC News, Senator David Shoebridge urged the Australian government to follow the EU’s footsteps and better protect Australian users from the predatory data scraping practices of Big Tech companies. “Meta made it clear today that if Australia had these same laws Australians’ data would also have been protected,” the senator said. “The government’s failure to act on privacy means companies like Meta are continuing to monetise and exploit pictures and videos of children on Facebook.”