Meta’s AI Arriving in Europe: Privacy Disputes Concealing Copyright Concerns

Since 22 May 2024, Meta has notified to European users of Instagram and Facebook – through in-app notifications and emails – an update of its privacy policy, linked to the upcoming implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in the area. Indeed, the company already developed and made available some AI features and experiences in other parts of the world, including an assistant called “Meta AI”, built on a large language model (LLM) called “Llama”, and, in an official statement, announced the imminent plan to expand their use also in Europe. This initiative resulted in some pending privacy disputes, which polarized the debate. However, data appear to be just one side of the medal and to conceal much deeper copyright concerns. Given the holistic approach required by the challenges related to the construction of AI models, it is appropriate to proceed in order, starting with a broader overview.