Meta Announces Plan to Train AI Models on Public Content in the EU

Meta has announced that it will be training its AI models using public content, including posts and comments on Facebook and Instagram, in the EU. This decision comes after the company had previously paused its plans due to regulatory pressure and concerns over data privacy. The training process will commence this week, and users’ interactions with Meta AI will also be utilized to enhance the models.

This announcement follows the limited rollout of Meta AI in the EU last month, which occurred after its launch in the U.S. and other global markets.

Background on Meta’s AI Training

Meta has been training its AI models on user-generated content in the U.S. for several years. However, the company has faced resistance in the EU due to the region’s stringent privacy laws, particularly the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which necessitates a clear legal basis for processing personal data to train AI models.

In June 2024, Meta announced that it would pause its plans to train AI systems using user data in the EU and U.K. following pushback from the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC). The DPC, which regulates Meta in the EU, was acting on behalf of several data protection authorities across the bloc. Later, in September 2024, Meta announced that it was restarting efforts to train its AI systems using public posts from its U.K. user base.

Now, Meta has announced that it will also train its AI models using public posts from its EU user base.

Meta’s Statement

“Last year, we delayed training our large language models using public content while regulators clarified legal requirements,” Meta stated in its blog post. “We welcome the opinion provided by the EDPB in December, which affirmed that our original approach met our legal obligations. Since then, we have engaged constructively with the IDPC and look forward to continuing to bring the full benefits of generative AI to people in Europe.”

User Notification and Opt-Out

Starting this week, users in the EU will receive in-app and email notifications explaining that Meta will use public data and interactions with Meta AI to train its models. These notifications will include a link to a form allowing users to opt out of their data being used. Meta has stated that it will honor all previously received objection forms, as well as new submissions.

Data Usage

Meta notes that it does not use private messages or public data from users under the age of 18 in the EU to train its models.

Building AI for Europeans

“We believe we have a responsibility to build AI that’s not just available to Europeans, but is actually built for them,” Meta says. “That’s why it’s so important for our generative AI models to be trained on a variety of data so they can understand the incredible and diverse nuances and complexities that make up European communities. That means everything from dialects and colloquialisms, to hyper-local knowledge and the distinct ways different countries use humor and sarcasm on our products.”

Industry Precedent

Meta is following the lead of companies like Google and OpenAI, both of which have already used data from European users to train their AI models.

Ongoing Regulatory Scrutiny

Meanwhile, the DPC is not moving on entirely from scrutinizing how large language model creators are training their AI services. Last week, the regulator announced it was investigating xAI’s training of Grok.