With a warning, the Consumer Advice Center NRW aims to prevent Meta from using the content of its users for training its AI models without consent. The European subsidiary, Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd., has been asked to provide a cease and desist declaration. In recent days, Meta has mass-mailed users of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads to inform them about adjustments to its privacy policy. "We are updating our privacy policy as we expand AI at Meta," the email states. The text also informs users of their right to object.

The consumer protection agency from North Rhine-Westphalia criticizes that Meta customers must actively opt out if they do not agree to AI training based on their postings. "The opt-out procedure is very cumbersome and not user-friendly," remarked the consumer protection agency. Additionally, it criticizes that Facebook now performs an extended analysis of the private photo library by default: Users of the Facebook app receive suggestions on which photos or videos from their personal storage they could share on the platform. From the perspective of the Consumer Protection Agency of North Rhine-Westphalia, both changes – the AI training and the photo analysis – violate users' data protection rights.

Meta believes that its actions do not violate the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In the email to users, it states: "In order to offer you these user experiences, we will in the future rely on the legal basis of legitimate interest when using your information to further develop and improve AI at Meta.

Consumer protection advocates cannot agree with this interpretation of data protection law. "Meta is making it too easy for itself here," said Wolfgang Schuldzinski, Chairman of the Consumer Advice Center NRW. The use of private data for training artificial intelligence should not happen without the consent of users. "Because the personal data used in the process can be highly deserving of protection." Users could not have foreseen in the past that the information they posted could one day be used for training AI.

Meta has until June 19, 2024, following a warning from the Verbraucherzentrale NRW, to submit a cease and desist declaration. If Meta lets the deadline pass without action, the consumer advocates can resort to legal action.

The shares of Meta fell by 0.90 percent on NASDAQ and closed at 504.28 US dollars.