National Data Protection Agency orders Meta to immediately stop using user data for AI training
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Brazil's National Data Protection Agency (Autoridade Nacional de Proteção de Dados (ANPD)) announced on July 2, 2024 that it would invalidate Meta's new privacy policy, which allows Facebook and Instagram posts to be used for AI development, and would ban the training of AI with data generated by Brazilian citizens.
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https://www.gov.br/anpd/pt-br/assuntos/noticias/anpd-determine-suspension-cautelar-do-tratamento-de-dados-pessoais-para-treinamento-da-ia-da-meta
Brazil authority suspends Meta's AI privacy policy, seeks adjustment | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/brazil-authority-suspends-metas-ai-privacy-policy-seeks-adjustment-2024-07-02/
Brazil data regulator bans Meta from mining data to train AI models | AP News
https://apnews.com/article/brazil-tech-meta-privacy-data-93e00b2e0e26f7cc98795dd052aea8e1
On July 2, Brazil's ANPD announced that it was announcing preventive measures ordering the immediate suspension in Brazil of Meta's new privacy policy, which allows personal data published on the platform to be used to train AI systems. Non-compliance will be penalized with a fine of 50,000 reais (approximately 1.4 million yen) per day.
This measure follows Meta's guidelines for using user data to train AI. Meta updated its privacy policy on June 26, 2024, to allow Meta to use content published by its social media users to train AI, unless the user explicitly opts out.
This change has been met with opposition from users, particularly artists, even before it came into effect, and the EU has also issued an injunction to temporarily halt its implementation.
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Brazil is one of Meta's largest markets, with around 102 million active Facebook users in the country, so the ANPD is concerned that 'any such treatment could affect a significant number of people.'
The ANPD, which launched a preliminary investigation into the matter following indications of a violation of Brazil's General Data Protection Law (LGPD), concluded that 'Meta has not disclosed clear, precise and easily accessible information enabling data subjects, i.e. the owners of the data, to be aware of the consequences of using their personal data for the development of generative AI.'
Authorities are particularly concerned that personal data of children and young people, including photos, videos and posts, are being processed without appropriate safeguards.
The review also found that despite users having the right to object to the processing of their personal information, there were excessive and unreasonable obstacles to exercising that right.
The authorities are calling on Meta to revise its privacy policy to remove the section about using personal data to train generative AI, and to issue a public statement that it has suspended the processing of personal data for such purposes.
Meta, meanwhile, expressed disappointment with the ANPD's decision in a media statement, adding that the move represents a setback for innovation and will delay the day when Brazilians can enjoy the benefits of AI.
In a statement, Meta said: 'Our transparency is greater than that of many other companies in the industry who use public content to train their models and products, and our approach complies with Brazilian privacy laws and regulations.'
The decision has been welcomed by human rights advocates. 'The authorities' decision will help protect children from fears that the personal information they share with friends and family on Meta's social media platform could be used to harm them in ways that cannot be predicted or prevented,' Hye Jung Han, a researcher at the Brazil-based human rights group, told the Associated Press.
On the other hand, some point out that the harsh measures taken against Meta, which has openly stated that it uses data from its platform to train AI, could lead other AI companies to refrain from disclosing how they use data, resulting in less transparency.
'Meta has been severely punished because it was the only major technology company to clearly inform users in advance that it would use data from its platform to train AI,' said Ronald Lemos, a Brazilian think tank at the Rio de Janeiro Institute for Technology and Society.
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