Use of Meta User Data for AI Training: Objection Period Expired
The key legal issue is whether the internet giant has a "legitimate interest" in the data. An initial decision by the Higher Regional Court of Cologne affirms this, said Nikolaus Forgó, Professor of Technology and Intellectual Property Law at the University of Vienna, to the APA.
Since Tuesday, Meta can use personal data from public profiles of adult European Facebook and Instagram users for training artificial intelligence (AI), such as the Meta AI software, provided they have not actively objected. This is argued with a "legitimate interest" in the use of the data. Critics see a violation of European data protection law, Meta rejects the allegations.
The NGO None Of Your Business (noyb, "None of Your Business") of Austrian data protection activist Max Schrems has already sent a cease-and-desist letter to Meta in advance and threatens a European class action. Meanwhile, the Consumer Center of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) has applied for a preliminary injunction against the use of user data for AI training at the Higher Regional Court of Cologne.
No Violation of General Data Protection Regulation
The court has now decided that Meta may use data from publicly available user profiles. After a preliminary examination, there is neither a violation of the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) nor the Digital Markets Act (DMA), according to a press release from the court. This assessment also aligns with the regulatory evaluation by the Irish data protection authority responsible for Meta.
The company pursues a legitimate purpose that could not be achieved by other means that would be less intrusive. Furthermore, the data used does not contain names, email addresses, or postal addresses of individual users. "Meta allegedly says they have taken measures to avoid processing sensitive personal data. But of course, no one knows the details who does not know the inner workings of Facebook," said Forgó. He refers to political beliefs or sexual orientation - information that is often found on Facebook.
Training According to Meta "Industry Standard"
Meta defended the plans: "This training is industry standard and crucial for our modern AI products and models to increasingly better understand and represent German culture, language, and history." Additionally, people in the EU have been given the opportunity to object to the use of their information for these purposes, and they have been informed of this right via email and in-app notifications.
Instead of an opt-out, as was possible until yesterday, Monday, having to ask for consent in individual cases is, according to Forgó, difficult to implement given the speed at which technology is developing and the disruptive market. Data protection advocate Schrems had called on the company to ask those affected for their consent. "There are countless other companies where probably exactly the same thing is happening. However, they are less prominently in the spotlight like Facebook," Forgó is convinced.
Subsequent Data Deletion Difficult
Even after the deadline has passed, an objection is possible. Whether the data, if the objection is justified, would then actually be deleted or could be deleted at all is unclear. If the data is already in the AI systems, it is likely to be difficult to remove it again, according to the legal scholar. On one hand, it is hardly traceable where which data is or was present, on the other hand, it is not known what AI models do based on which data. Ultimately, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) will probably decide whether a "legitimate interest" can be assumed. However, this could take years, according to Forgó.
Incidentally, an international "Digital Humanism" conference is currently taking place in Vienna. Until Wednesday, the societal impacts of digital technologies are being discussed under the motto "Shaping our digital future." The topic includes how algorithmic systems influence democratic processes.
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.