During a government inquiry into AI deployment in Australia, Meta’s global privacy director Melinda Claybaugh was asked if the company was collecting Australians’ data to train its generative AI technology. According to ABC News, Claybaugh initially denied the allegations, but when pressed, she eventually admitted that Meta scrapes all photos and text from Facebook and Instagram posts going back to 2007, unless the user has set the post to private. Additionally, the company also acknowledged that it does not offer Australian users the same opt-out option as its EU users.
Claybaugh said Meta does not scrape the accounts of users under 18, but acknowledged it does collect photos and other information posted on parent or guardian accounts. But he could not say whether the company collects data from previous years after users turn 18. Asked why Meta does not offer Australians the choice to opt out of data collection, Claybaugh said that option exists in the EU “in response to a very specific legal framework,” which he said likely has to do with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Meta had notified EU users that it would collect their data for AI training unless they opted out. “The ongoing debate in Europe is a direct result of the existing regulatory environment,” Claybaugh explained during the investigation. But even in the region, “there are ongoing legal questions about the interpretation of existing privacy laws regarding AI training,” Claybaugh said. Meta decided not to offer its multimodal AI model and future versions in the bloc due to the lack of clarity from European regulators. Most of the company’s concerns were centered on the difficulty of training AI models with European users’ data while complying with GDPR regulations.
Ultimately, Meta gives EU users the power to block data collection, despite legal questions surrounding its AI deployment in Europe. “Meta has made it clear today that if Australia had the same laws, Australians’ data would be protected,” Australian Senator David Shoebridge told ABC News. “The government’s failure to act on privacy means companies like Meta can continue to monetize and exploit children’s photos and videos on Facebook.”
