Meta Pauses Meta AI Launch in Europe Amid GDPR Compliance and Privacy Concerns

Jun 14, 2024, 02:49 PM

Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has decided to pause the launch of its artificial intelligence assistant, Meta AI, in Europe. This decision follows a request from the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), which raised concerns over the use of public social media posts from European users to train Meta's AI models. Meta had planned to utilize data from Facebook and Instagram to enhance its Llama AI large language model. The company describes this pause as a setback for European innovation and AI competition. Meta's compliance with GDPR regulations, European users' data, and the backlash from privacy advocacy groups, such as NOYB, have been significant factors in this decision.