Meta is currently developing multi-modal AI models, but the group does not want to deploy them in the EU in the future. The reason is regulatory requirements, in this case primarily the General Data Protection Regulation. Data protection rules would be a very big hurdle when creating training data.
No chatbot and no new models in the EU
Meta is a leading AI company, and the group is currently positioning its Meta AI chatbot as a competitor to ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini. Meta AI is currently based on Llama 3, its internal large language model, and is set to be integrated into the company’s own networks.
In the coming months, Meta also plans to release a multi-modal AI model that processes images, video, and audio in addition to text. As with Meta AI, the same goes for the multi-modal model: due to legal concerns, this and future models should not appear in Europe.
Stopped by GDPR
That the reports AxiosA Meta representative told the magazine that the post “unpredictable regulatory environment Standing in Europe’s way. The problem is not the EU’s AI Act, which has already been passed but has not yet come into force, but the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which could pose a major obstacle to training AI models.
Meta wanted to use publicly accessible posts and photos from its users on Facebook and Instagram to train AI and started doing so in June, but had to stop it shortly after, at least for European users. According to Meta, this training data was important so that we could offer an AI product to users in Europe that appropriately reflects their language habits and culture.
Meta is clearly fundamentally unhappy with what it says is often a lengthy review of its projects to ensure they comply with EU law, and is therefore proactively pulling the plug on its multi-modal AI models in Europe. However, an improved, text-only version of Llama 3 will also soon be available to users in the EU.
US companies against EU regulation
This is not the first case where a major American tech company has not introduced its new AI products in Europe due to stricter regulations. It was only in June that Apple announced that Apple's intelligence The features will not be offered in the EU at the moment, as the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) would jeopardize the “integrity” of its products.
