The Australian Senate committee has raised concerns over Meta’s use of Australian users’ photos to train its artificial intelligence (AI) models without their knowledge. During the committee hearing, Meta’s representatives faced tough questions from Labor Senator Tony Sheldon, the chairman of the Select Committee on Adopting AI.
As reported by the media in June 2024, Meta was questioned about its alleged use of Australian Instagram and Facebook posts dating back to 2007 for AI training. In response, Meta Global Privacy Policy Director Melinda Claybaugh stated that the company utilized “public data” from its products and services. Claybaugh emphasized that when users make posts on Facebook or Instagram and select the public audience option, they are essentially sharing that information publicly.
Greens Senator David Shoebridge pressed Claybaugh further, seeking clarification on Meta’s data scraping practices. He suggested that Meta had been scraping all public photos and text from Instagram and Facebook posts made by Australians since 2007, unless users consciously set their posts to private. Claybaugh admitted that this was indeed the reality.
However, Claybaugh dismissed concerns raised about Meta using data from adolescents’ accounts for AI training, stating that they only used public photos posted by individuals over 18 years old. Senator Shoebridge questioned the ethical implications of Meta’s actions, to which Claybaugh responded by highlighting the measures taken by the company to protect users’ personal data. She mentioned the implementation of filters and privacy safeguards to prevent personal data from being associated with specific individuals.
Claybaugh also mentioned that Meta had paused the launch of its AI products in Europe due to ongoing legal questions surrounding privacy laws and AI training. While an opt-out option was offered to users in Europe, Claybaugh did not provide a direct answer when asked if the same option would be available to Australian users.
The article also highlights concerns raised by human rights organizations regarding the potential privacy risks associated with Meta’s use of photos. Hye Jung Han, a researcher and advocate at a human rights organization, called on the Australian government to introduce laws protecting children’s data from misuse by AI technology. Han emphasized that children should not have to live in fear of their photos being stolen and weaponized against them.