Despite New-Generation AI Models Simplifying Our Lives and Opening Doors to Exciting New Technologies, the Training Methods of AI Models by Major Firms like Facebook and OpenAI Have Raised Concerns. Meta has made a startling confession in an ongoing lawsuit.

Facebook: “We used users’ photos!”

While new-generation AI models have made our lives easier and opened doors to exciting new technologies, how major firms like Facebook and OpenAI have trained these models remains a concern. Meta’s Global Privacy Director Melinda Claybaugh made a startling admission in an ongoing lawsuit that has raised concerns among users.

During a Senate inquiry in Australia, Claybaugh was asked by Labor Senator Tony Sheldon if Meta had used posts from Australian users dating back to 2007 to develop its generative AI tools. Initially, Claybaugh denied this claim.

However, Senator David Shoebridge challenged Claybaugh’s denial. Shoebridge asked, “The fact is, if you haven’t kept these posts private since 2007, Meta decided to collect all photos and text from every public post on Instagram or Facebook since 2007, right?” Claybaugh responded with a “Yes,” confirming the admission.

Claybaugh added that accounts of individuals under 18 were not scanned. However, when Senator Sheldon asked if public photos of children on his account would be scanned, Claybaugh admitted that this would also be done.

When asked if data from users who were under 18 when creating their accounts but are now adults had been scanned, Claybaugh preferred not to answer. In summary, if you were under 18 when you created your account, your photos might have been scanned.

Meta admitted in the lawsuit that it used public photos, posts, and other data of Australian adult users to train its AI models. The company has offered an opt-out option to users in the European Union, but it has not provided such an option to Australian users.

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