Meta Will Train AI on Business Account Content: How to Object From the EU and UK

Earlier this month, Meta updated its commercial terms of use for business accounts. The company now permits itself to “use any content from such domains, web pages, or URLs to provide, develop, improve, research, train, and maintain the integrity of” its products.

The change was tucked into the Commercial Terms and first reported by Nieman Lab. Many artists and small business owners who rely on Instagram and Facebook are furious that Meta has granted itself permission to train AI on their content, including material from websites that are simply linked to their accounts.

Dates and wording keep shifting

The new terms were originally set to take effect on October 30. After a wave of criticism, Meta pushed the date back to November 20. Then, according to Nieman Lab, the company removed the word “train” from the list of permitted uses and limited data use to “advertising and business products,” where it had previously covered all Meta products. Even so, the current wording still leaves the company plenty of room to collect user data.

The legal basis

In the EU, personal data rights are protected by the GDPR and the AI Act. The GDPR, enforceable since 2018, requires explicit consent to use personal data, including the right to object to its processing. The AI Act, in force since 2024, sets rules for how AI companies may handle personal data and lets people withdraw consent at any time. The UK has its own version of the GDPR.

The European Commission notes that the GDPR covers only data about individuals, not companies. However, information about a company can count as personal data if it makes it possible to identify a specific person.

How to object

Users in the UK and EU have started posting walkthroughs. According to the account bookish.sil, in the Instagram mobile app you open the menu (the three lines), go to the privacy center and tap “object.” This opens a form asking you to explain why you are objecting. Afterwards, Meta sent an email saying the objection had been approved. The user jenniqueart reported the same result.

404 Media's Samantha Cole tested the process herself. Her accounts are registered in the US, but with a VPN routing her through a London IP address, the relevant options appeared in her settings. On desktop, the path runs through the privacy center, then “Submit a privacy rights request” at the bottom of the page, then Instagram, then “How can I object to the processing of my information?” From there you can object separately to the use of your data for Meta AI and for third parties. With a US IP address, these options do not appear.

She could not complete the process. The form for objecting to the use of data for Meta AI returned an error: “This form is only available to people in certain regions.” A Belgian IP address produced the same result. In principle, the GDPR applies wherever a person is located, but the objection is tied to the account and may depend on where it was created. Cole has asked Meta for clarification.

Outside the EU and UK, the option does not exist. Meta also keeps changing its platform, so these steps may not work for everyone. If nothing changes before November 20, the author concludes, everyone else is simply out of luck.

Source: 404 Media