Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has announced it will begin using data from European users to train its artificial intelligence models—so long as it’s public and comes from adults. This includes interactions with Meta’s AI features, as well as public posts and comments, but not private messages or content from minors.
The move, revealed on April 14, comes just weeks after Meta finally rolled out its AI tools across Europe—a launch originally set for June 2024 but delayed due to privacy hurdles and regulatory scrutiny. While the tools debuted in the U.S. back in 2023, Europe’s tight data protection rules forced Meta to take a more cautious approach.
Now, EU users will start seeing pop-ups on Facebook and Instagram explaining how their data might be used and offering a form to opt out. It’s Meta’s attempt to walk the fine line between innovation and compliance.
Ireland’s Data Protection Commission had previously stepped in last year, pushing Meta to postpone its European launch. At the time, digital rights group NOYB also sounded alarms, urging regulators to stop social media companies from scraping content for AI purposes.
Meanwhile, Meta isn’t alone under the microscope. Elon Musk’s X and Google have also drawn attention from Ireland’s privacy watchdog. X is being investigated for potentially mishandling EU user data while training its AI chatbot, Grok. And Google has faced questions since last September about whether it protected user data properly before using it to develop its AI tools.
So far, the European Commission hasn’t commented on Meta’s latest move, but all eyes are likely to stay fixed on how the tech giant—and its rivals—navigate the increasingly complex landscape of AI, privacy, and regulation in the EU.
