Brazil Bans Meta’s New Policy to Use Social Media Posts for AI Training

• After Europe, Brazil also decided to ban Meta's new policy change that allows it to use users' data for AI training as it severely threatens the fundamental rights of the citizens.
• The company has been given 5 working days to revise its policy or it will face a fine of R$50,000 (6,935) daily.
• Meta is naturally unhappy with the decision. It said that this step will take Brazil backward in terms of innovation and AI development.

After Europe, Brazil has now banned Meta from using social media posts of users for AI training purposes.

On Tuesday, Brazil's National Data Protection Agency (ANPD) said it would be immediately suspending Meta's new privacy policy that allows it to use user content for training generative AI models.

Speaking about the reason behind such a decision, the agency said it was to deal with the imminent risk of serious and irreparable damage, or difficulty repairing fundamental rights of the affected [account] holders".

ANPD has given the company 5 working days to revise its policy or it will face a fine of 50,000 reais ( $8,808) daily.

A similar thing happened in Europe too when Meta made its intentions public. However, the EU has forced Meta to pause its program following a complaint from NOYB.

What Does Meta Have to Say about ANPD's Decision?

The company is obviously not happy with this decision. It said that it's disappointed that the ANDP would take such a step considering Meta's policy changes are compliant with the local laws.

It also added that this decision will be a huge setback for Brazil in terms of innovation and AI development. Not to mention, it will also prevent Brazilians from getting the most out of AI.

The company shared similar sentiments when its policy change was banned by the EU just a few weeks ago.Meta has a huge market in Brazil with more than 102 million Facebook users and more than 113 million Instagram users.

Why the Situation in Brazil Is Worse than in Europe?

Both Europe and Brazil have objections to Meta's new policy change but the latter has much more reasons to be concerned.

Meta Plans to Use Underage Users' Data

The biggest issue is that in Europe, the policy change would only affect users above 18. This means that all the posts that the company planned to use for training its AI models would be taken from adults.

However, Pedro Martins, from Data Privacy Brasil pointed out that in Brazil, it was also being imposed on teenagers and children.

This not only goes against Brazilian laws but also raises questions about Meta's intention and the reason for this clear difference in its approach towards the two markets.

Difficult for Brazilian Users to Opt Out

The other issue is that although there are steps one can take to prevent their data from being used in AI training, it's different for Europeans and Brazilians. The process to do this in Europe is simpler - users will have to fill up a form requesting Meta not to use their personal data.

In Brazil, the opt-out process is more complicated. It takes about 8 steps for users to stop the company from using their posts in AI training.

Clearly, Meta seems to be taking the Brazilian authorities for granted, as evident by these discriminatory policies. However, the ANPD has now pulled up Meta for its wishful' policies in Brazil and may require it to make several amendments before Meta can implement them in the country.

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