Breaking News: Brazil Blocks Meta from Using Instagram and Facebook Posts for AI Training
As the world's top investment manager and financial market journalist, I bring you the latest update on Meta's privacy policy debacle in Brazil. Brazil's national data protection agency (ANPD) has taken a bold step by blocking Meta from using Brazilians' Instagram and Facebook posts to train its AI models. This decision comes just weeks after a similar plan was abandoned in the UK and Europe.
Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has a significant market in Brazil with over 102 million Facebook users and 113 million Instagram users in the country. The ANPD cited the "imminent risk of serious and irreparable damage" to users' fundamental rights as the reason behind the suspension of Meta's privacy policy.
The company has been given five working days to amend its privacy policy to exclude the use of personal information from public posts for AI training. Failure to comply will result in a hefty daily fine of R$50,000 (£6,935).
In Europe, Meta's policy changes were also put on hold after receiving a request from the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) to delay the training of large language models (LLMs). These LLMs power chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini.
While Meta has expressed disappointment over the decision in Brazil, Data Privacy Brasil has welcomed the ANPD's move. There were concerns raised about the collection and use of personal data from children and teenagers' posts to train AI systems, potentially violating data protection laws in Brazil.
This development highlights the importance of data privacy and the need for companies like Meta to prioritize user rights. As an investor or individual, it's crucial to stay informed about these issues that can impact your privacy and data security. Stay tuned for more updates on this evolving story.