Meta pauses AI models launch in Europe due to Irish request

Meta will not launch its Meta AI models in Europe for now after the Irish privacy regulator told it to delay its plan to harness user data.

Meta Platforms will not launch its Meta AI models in Europe for now after the Irish privacy regulator told it to delay its plan to harness data from Facebook and Instagram users, the U.S. social media company said on Friday.

The move by Meta came after complaints and a call by advocacy group NOYB to data protection authorities in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Spain to act against the company.

At issue is Meta's plan to use personal data to train its artificial intelligence (AI) models without seeking consent, although the company has said it would use publicly available and licensed online information.

Meta on Friday said the Irish privacy watchdog had asked it to delay training its large language models (LLMs) using public content shared by Facebook and Instagram adult users.

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"We're disappointed by the request from the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), our lead regulator, on behalf of the European DPAs ... particularly since we incorporated regulatory feedback and the European DPAs have been informed since March," the company said in an updated blogpost.

It said the Irish request is a step backwards for European innovation and competition in AI development.