Meta’s “opt-out”: invullen of niet?
Following a mailing from Meta (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram), we are getting a lot of questions from affiliates. Meta has announced that it has changed its terms of use so that Meta can now use all uploads and private data of its users to train its AI. If you don’t want this, you can use an ‘opt-out’. By submitting a form, you can request Meta not to use your uploads, searches and private data to train their AI. You can do this through your Facebook or Instagram account settings. Authors are now wondering whether it is advisable to make use of this.
We have strong objections where Meta’s opt-out option is concerned. First, because as far as we are concerned, it is preferable to manage your opt-out centrally as an author, rather than having to use the tools of each specific AI company – that certainly seems impractical for authors in the long run. A good opt-out should be low-threshold, centrally organised in a collective manner, and should be able to apply to an entire body of work. This is why the Federatie Beeldrechten recently launched Opt Out Now!
Moreover, Meta’s opt-out applies only to anything you upload yourself, and not to work of yours uploaded by others. Thus, Meta indicates it can still process your data if you or your details appear in photos or captions. So, it is not all-encompassing. There is also the question of whether third parties, other than Meta, can still train on your data after your request. Finally, it is a very tedious process, with your (substantiated) request also having to be ‘approved’ by Meta. This is obviously not the intention: an author should be able to independently choose to opt-out: this should not be subject to the ‘approval’ of the AI developer. A lot of unnecessary barriers are raised by Meta to exercising your rights as an author.
Since there is unfortunately still very little clarity from the legislator about the requirements an opt-out option must meet, despite all the objections, it might still be wise to also sign up directly with Meta as an (additional) option. If you want as much assurance as possible: then by all means use this option. For a higher success rate, we recommend referring to copyright and specifically Section 15o of the Copyright Act. You can also invoke your privacy rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (AVG). Please note that this does not mean you are done! For an overview of several opt-out options, see our AI dossier and also register at www.optoutnow.ai.