Meta - like Google, Microsoft and Apple - wants in on the artificial intelligence hype and is preparing to use the content you post on Instagram and Facebook to train its AI models.
From June 26 onwards, Facebook and Instagram will begin feeding your posts, photos, comments and other content that you share on its platforms to its AI model - unless you intervene.
Content that is not public, such as posts only viewable by friends or certain individuals, will also be passed on to the AI, according to Germany's Federation of German Consumer Organisations (VZBV) and its reading of Meta's announcement. However, direct messages are to be excluded.
How to object to your data being used
If you do not want your data to be used to train Meta's AI, you can object using a form. All in all, it takes less than 5 minutes.
And yet Meta has hidden the form deep within several menus on a page that's poorly optimized for mobile phones, meaning that many users are likely not to bother.
Here's how to find the form on Instagram and Facebook.
For Instagram:
- Open your profile page and tap on the three-dash menu button in the corner to open the settings.
- Scroll all the way down and tap on "about".
- Then select "Privacy Policy" and find on the "right to object" link in the text box that appears near the top.
For Facebook:
- Open your profile page and (when in the browser) click on your profile photo at the top right or (when in the app) tap on the three dots on the right.
- Then select "Settings and privacy" and then "Settings". Scroll down to the "Privacy policy" section and click or tap on the "Right to object" link in the text box.
Once you get to this objection form, you'll then need to first enter your country of residence and an email address. If you have several accounts with Meta and use different email addresses for each of them, you must fill in a separate form for each address.
You then have to express your concerns in field where Meta asks how this processing affects you. You could enter something like: "I have the copyright to my posted data and do not grant the right of use for AI applications" or "I generally feel uncomfortable at the thought of my data being used by an AI."
Meta will then judge whether the reasons for the objection should be valued higher than its own business interests, the consumer protection experts say.
However, the VZBV association also writes that initial reports from those requesting exemption are promising, and Meta has accepted many of their objections without them having written a long justification.
What if Meta rejects my objection? There appear to be three options in this case, according to the VZBZ's social media experts.
- Stop publishing posts.
- Delete the Facebook and Instagram accounts completely.
- Seek advice from experts or take legal action against the use of data with the support of a law firm.