The decision by Brazil’s national data protection agency to halt Meta’s plans to use user posts from Instagram and Facebook for AI training has sparked controversy over user privacy and fundamental rights, showcasing discrepancies in data protection measures between Brazil and Europe.
Brazil’s national data protection agency (ANPD) has suspended Meta’s new privacy policy that permits the use of user posts from Instagram and Facebook to train its artificial intelligence (AI) models. The decision came on Tuesday, prompting immediate halt to Meta’s plans in the country.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, had intended to utilize posts from over 102 million Facebook users and more than 113 million Instagram users in Brazil to train generative AI models like chatbots. This move followed Meta’s earlier abandonment of similar plans in the UK and European Union due to opposition from privacy regulators.
The ANPD cited concerns over potential “serious and irreparable damage” to users’ fundamental rights as the reason for their action. Following the ruling, Meta was given five working days to amend its privacy policy or face a daily fine of R$50,000 (£6,935).
In response, a Meta spokesperson expressed disappointment, stating that the company’s approach adhered to local privacy laws. Meta also noted that this decision is detrimental to innovation and AI competition in Brazil.
Previously, European regulators had also scrutinized Meta’s proposed policy changes. In June, Meta postponed similar plans in Europe after receiving a request from the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) aimed at safeguarding user privacy.
Pedro Martins from Data Privacy Brasil highlighted that the decision by ANPD addresses discrepancies in data protection measures between Brazilian and European users. In Brazil, there were concerns that users, including children and teenagers, could have their public posts used by Meta for AI training, whereas such data usage was restricted to those over 18 in Europe. Additionally, Martins pointed out that it is more cumbersome for Brazilian users to opt out of data usage compared to their European counterparts.
Meta has yet to respond to claims regarding the use of posts from Brazilian children and teenagers in AI training and the complexities of the opt-out process in Brazil.
