Adobe re-examines its terms of use to state that it will not 'learn user content through AI'

In response to criticism over the wording 'Adobe may access user content' in the Adobe Creative Cloud Terms of Use updated in June 2024, Adobe has pledged to clarify each item of the Terms of Use. This will clarify that user-created content will not be used for AI training, etc.

Here's what to know about Adobe's Terms of Use updates | Adobe Blog

Adobe's new terms of service say it won't train AI on customers' work - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/10/24175416/adobe-overhauls-terms-of-service-update-firefly

The updated Terms of Use in early June included the following sentence: 'Adobe may access, view, and/or view your content, both automatically and manually, for purposes such as reviewing content, but only in limited ways and only as permitted by law.' Initially, it was explained that this was 'for Adobe to address CSAM (child sexual abuse content) and other issues,' but concerns were raised about the possibility that user content could be used for AI training without permission, and that content created under an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) could be leaked.

Adobe introduces new terms of service to allow 'free access and use of user-generated content', drawing criticism from creators - GIGAZINE

Later, after receiving many questions about the terms of use, Adobe revised some of the terms of use and announced the details on its blog. According to Adobe, they adjusted the finer nuances of the terms of use, and explained once again that 'access to content is necessary to provide cloud-based features such as Photoshop's Neural Filters and Adobe Sensei's Liquid Mode, and access is also necessary to screen content for CSAM, etc.'

Adobe also stated that 'Adobe does not train Firefly (its AI) with customer content.'

Adobe formally explains changes to its terms of service to allow free access and use of user-generated content - GIGAZINE

However, new concerns have arisen, such as, 'I understand that you will not train your own AI, but what about other companies' AI?' On June 10, 2024, Adobe updated its blog again and promised to revise its terms of use.

Adobe has stated that it is 'clarifying' the following items in its Terms of Use:

◆You own your content
The license grant section clarifies that your content belongs to you and is not used to train generative AI tools, and that the license granted to Adobe when you use Adobe services does not supersede your ownership rights.

Adobe won't train its generative AI with user content
Adobe is adding this statement to its Terms of Use to reassure users that these are Adobe's legal obligations. Adobe Firefly is trained only on datasets of permissioned licensed content, such as Adobe Stock and public domain content that is no longer under copyright.

◆ You can choose not to participate in Adobe's product improvement program
Adobe may use usage data and content characteristics to improve your product experience and develop features like masking and background removal through techniques such as machine learning (not generative AI), but will always provide you with the option to opt out of Adobe's product improvement programs.

The licenses required to operate and improve the product on behalf of users must be tailored precisely to your needs.
The licenses necessary for Adobe to operate and improve Adobe products on your behalf are governed by standard statutory copyright, but we will now provide clear examples of what they mean and why they are necessary. We will also separate and further limit the licenses necessary for product improvement, and emphasize that opt-out options exist. We will again clarify that these license grants do not transfer ownership rights in your content to Adobe in any way.

Adobe never scans any content stored locally on your computer.
When users upload content to Adobe's servers, Adobe automatically scans the content to ensure the company isn't hosting CSAM, just as it does with other content hosting platforms. If the automated system flags a problem, a human will investigate. The only other times humans will review user content is when the content is posted to a public site or at the customer's request to comply with law.

These amendments are scheduled to be applied by June 18, 2024. Adobe explained, 'We should have updated our terms of use sooner. As technology evolves, we have had to evolve not only in our day-to-day operations, but also in the legal language we use in our policies, narrowing down legal requirements, explaining them in easy-to-understand language, and so on,' and promised to provide an opportunity for users to voice their opinions before amending the terms.