Brazil has suspended Meta's access from using Instagram and Facebook posts from the country to train its AI models, a similar move from the European Union and the U.K.
The Brazil national data protection agency (ANPD) announced that it will immediately cease Meta's latest privacy policy which allows its AI models to train from users' posts.
(Photo : Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images)
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Brazil Prevents Potential AI Risk With Meta's Latest Policy
According to the ANPD, the decision was implemented to avoid the "imminent risk of serious and irreparable damage, or difficulty repairing fundamental rights of the affected holders." The policy in question is the recent change that was implemented last June 26 in the region.
The new privacy policy states that Meta would start collecting data from its users' posts to develop and improve its AI products. In Europe, the policy includes image captions, comments, and Stories.
Meta has five working days to revise its privacy policy and exclude the use of personal information on public posts for its AI training. Failure to comply would result in a daily fine of R$50,000 or around $9,100.
Meta Expresses Disappointment With Increasing Policy Scrutiny
A Meta spokesperson said that the company was disappointed by the country's decision to block the recent privacy policy. The company believed that the approach complied with the local privacy laws in Brazil.
"This is a step backward for innovation, competition in AI development, and further delays bringing the benefits of AI to people in Brazil," the company added.
Currently, there are over 102 million Facebook users and more than 113 million Instagram users in Brazil. The privacy policy would have affected users who are over the age of 18.
Meta justified that its AI system will only collect information from posts that were shared with a public audience across Facebook and Instagram. Private conversations will not be used in any way to train AI.
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