Posting an exemption from AI training will not prevent Meta from using your personal data.
In early September, a message claiming to block Meta from freely accessing users’ personal information was circulated across social networking sites such as Threads, Facebook and Instagram. The tweet, which was reportedly shared by more than 600,000 people, including several celebrities, began with the phrase “Goodbye Meta AI.”
According to the BBC, film stars Julianne Moore, James McAvoy and Ashley Tisdale, as well as former NFL player Tom Brady, were among those who reshared the fake “Goodbye Meta AI” message on their Instagram stories.
The message reads, “Goodbye Meta AI. We have been advised by our lawyers to post this or we may face legal action. As Meta is now a public institution, all members should post a similar statement.”
“If you do not post at least once, you consent to the use of your information and photos. I have not authorized Meta or anyone else to use my personal data, profile information, or photos.”
Photo credit: Instagram/Julianne Moore
According to the BBC, many of these messages have now been classified as “fake information” by Lead Stories, one of Meta’s third-party fact-checking sites.
The post appears to have been made in reaction to Meta’s announcement in June that it would use public posts to train its AI models, but the company confirmed to the BBC that posting the message would not affect users’ privacy settings.
“Does publishing a statement guarantee that Meta service users’ data will not be used to train Meta’s artificial intelligence? No, that’s not true. Publishing the statement in question, or any other statement, does not mean that Meta will not use its data for AI training, but European users can object via the account settings form,” Lead Stories, a Facebook fact-checking partner since 2019, said on its website.
