Meta's AI Training: How to Protect Your Social Media Data

Meta may have paused its plans to use European users' data for AI training, but it's still gathering data from public U.S. accounts without offering an opt-out option. Here's how to protect your personal information from being used by Meta's AI models.

Meta may have hit a roadblock in its plans to train artificial intelligence (AI) models using data from European users. However, in the United States, Meta has already been combing through public posts from U.S. accounts since last year to improve its AI capabilities. This includes training its chatbot and other generative AI features.

The proposed privacy policy update for European Union and U.K. users, originally scheduled for June 26, would have allowed Meta to use publicly shared content for AI training. However, users and regulatory agencies opposed this plan, leading to its indefinite postponement in those regions.

Meta's AI Training: How to Protect Your Social Media Data

In contrast, Meta has been incorporating public data from U.S. accounts into its generative AI features without offering an opt-out option. This means that Meta is using every personal detail you have posted publicly, including photos, videos, captions, and Reels. Meta can only use this information if you have a public account. Private accounts, Facebook and Instagram stories, and Threads data will be spared. Meta also says it doesn't use anything from private, direct messaging on Facebook and Instagram, even for people with public accounts.

Users in the U.S. and other countries without national data privacy laws don't have a sure way to stop Meta from using their data to train AI. The only way to prevent Meta from using your data is to make your Facebook or Instagram account private.

To make your Facebook account private:

1. Open your Facebook account on your phone or computer.

2. Select the Menu

3. Tap Settings & privacy

4. Select Settings

5. Scroll to where it says Audience and visibility

6. Click Posts

7. Then select an option other than Public, such as Friends or Only Me

To make your Instagram account private:

1. Select the profile tab in the bottom right

2. Tap the three lines in the top right corner to open Settings and activity

3. Tap Account privacy and toggle your account to private so it appears blue

While making your account private will prevent Meta from using your data to train AI, other tech companies can still use your publicly available data. To remove your data from the internet, you can invest in a data removal service. These services can help you monitor and automate the process of removing your information from hundreds of sites over time.

It's important to note that tech companies like Google and OpenAI have also been using publicly available data to train their AI models. However, the difference is that Meta is using personal details that users have shared on their social media platforms. This includes information that users may not want to be used for AI training.

It's time for the government to introduce stricter data protection laws to stop big tech giants from exploiting Americans' data. Users in the U.S. should have the same control over their data as those in the EU. Would you consider making your social media accounts private to prevent companies like Meta from using your data? Let us know your thoughts.