Meta scrapes Australian users' data for AI; no opt-out option

Meta is facing scrutiny over its use of Australian users' public Facebook and Instagram posts to train artificial intelligence, with no opt-out option available, unlike in Europe, reported The Guardian.

During a parliamentary committee hearing, Meta’s privacy policy director Melinda Claybaugh acknowledged that the company has used the publicly shared content of Australian users, and stated that an opt-out feature, similar to the one offered in Europe, is not currently available for Australians.

The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) prompted Meta to halt its AI product rollout in Europe and offer users the ability to opt-out of having their data used for AI training.

This decision came in response to privacy concerns and legal requirements under GDPR. In contrast, Australian users have no such choice, leading to frustration among local lawmakers and users alike.

Senator Tony Sheldon criticized Meta, expressing a desire for Australian users to have similar options to European counterparts. Greens senator David Shoebridge highlighted the fact that Australians who have used Facebook and Instagram since 2007 have had their public posts scraped unless they proactively set their posts to private.

Meta’s Claybaugh admitted that this historical data scraping has occurred and reiterated that future posts could be protected by setting them to private.

She did not provide a timeline or assurance that an opt-out option would be introduced for Australian users. This situation has sparked a call for government intervention to address privacy concerns and ensure that users' rights are respected globally.

The issue reflects broader dissatisfaction with tech giants' handling of user data and their compliance with privacy regulations.