The issue is not confined to Australia. Similar privacy concerns have emerged in India, where the Software Freedom Law Centre has raised alarms about the potential harm of Meta’s data processing practices
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Meta is under increasing scrutiny from Australian regulators after revelations that the company has been using public posts from Facebook and Instagram to train its AI models without obtaining user consent.
During a recent parliamentary committee hearing, Melinda Claybaugh, Meta’s privacy policy director, disclosed that Meta scrapes data from public posts made by users aged over 18, even if those users did not explicitly agree to such use.
Claybaugh explained that while users can prevent future data scraping by setting their posts to private, this does not reverse the scraping of content that has already been collected. This has raised concerns among Australian officials, who argue that millions of Australians have not given their consent for their personal photos, videos, and other posts to be used in training AI models.
Australian Senator Tony Sheldon, who chairs the committee overseeing AI adoption, criticised Meta for disregarding users’ rights. Sheldon highlighted that many people feel their rights have been violated by tech giants that ignore laws and regulations. He stated that people globally are frustrated with tech companies that operate without regard for privacy and legal standards.
Calls for opt-out options
Senator David Shoebridge also voiced concerns, demanding that Australians be given the option to opt out of having their data used for AI training.
He compared the situation unfavourably to regulations in Europe, which offer more robust data protection options. Because of this, Meta couldn’t scrap its European users’ data without their consent.
Shoebridge pointed out that unless users manually set their posts to private, Meta has been scraping all public content from Facebook and Instagram since 2007. He criticised the lack of an easy and clear process for opting out.
Privacy Concerns for international users
The issue is not confined to Australia. Similar privacy concerns have emerged in India, where the Software Freedom Law Centre has raised alarms about the potential harm of Meta’s data processing practices.
The Delhi-based digital rights group has called for better safeguards to protect users’ personal data from automated processing. Their letter to the Union Ministry of Information and Technology emphasised the need for simpler and clearer processes for users to control how their data is used.
Future Actions
As Meta faces mounting pressure, both in Australia and internationally, the company will need to address these privacy concerns and potentially revise its data handling practices. The calls for more transparent and user-friendly options for data opt-out highlight the growing demand for stronger data protection measures in the digital age.
The unfolding situation underscores the broader issue of how tech companies manage user data and the need for regulatory frameworks that can keep pace with rapidly advancing technologies.