In September 2024, media outlets reported that over 600,000 people had fallen victim to a hoax claiming users could deny Meta the right to use their images to train its artificial intelligence (AI).[1] People across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp thought by sharing the same fake “Goodbye Meta AI” message the company would no longer be able to use their data. Prominent figures including Tom Brady, Ashley Tisdale and James McAvoy were among the many duped by the hoax. However, it quickly became clear that sharing the story did nothing to stop Meta using this data with the actual opt-out function located in the user settings of Facebook and Instagram.
The incident once again shed light on the growing issue of how large technology firms, especially social media companies, use the vast quantities of personal information they have access to in order to develop their own AI models. So far, many prominent companies involved in developing AI have been reluctant to share where they source their data and how they use it.[2] The fact that over half a million people were duped by the hoax highlights the unease many feel over how companies like Meta use their data, especially for AI. This is also reflected in recent research which shows that the majority of people report concerns over AI and its implications for privacy.[3]
Different platforms, different approaches
It is important to note that the application of AI to social media varies across platforms. In September 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a report which investigated how large social media and video streaming companies, including Meta, YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), Snap and Twitch (owned by Amazon), handled personal user information, including using it to train their AI models. It found that users “had little or no way to opt out of how their data was used by these automated systems, and that there were differing, inconsistent, and inadequate approaches to monitoring and testing the use of automated systems.”[4] Some companies have already pressed ahead with allowing their users’ data to be used for AI. In March 2024, Reddit disclosed that it expected to generate USD $203 million in revenue from licensing its user posts to companies like Google for use in AI projects.[5] This drew scrutiny from the FTC which sent a letter to the company questioning how it intended to use user-generated content to train AI models.
Data regulation a hurdle for social media companies
The data privacy regulations of different jurisdictions have also proven key to determining whether social media companies can start using user data for AI. In the UK and EU, with their strong GDPR rules, Meta was forced to suspend its plans in June 2024 to use regional user data to train its AI.[6] In September 2024, LinkedIn also suspended using UK user data to develop its AI models following regulatory scrutiny.[7] While Meta is not currently using EU user data for AI purposes, it has started using UK data, with users in the country being told they have to opt out if they do not want their data to be used. In the US, where data protection rules are laxer, Meta can already use public posts from Facebook and Instagram for AI without needing to give users a way to opt out.[8] Similarly, while LinkedIn has stated that it does not use personal data from users in the UK, EU, EEA, Switzerland, Hong Kong and mainland China to train its AI, it can use personal data from outside these jurisdictions unless, again, users opt out.[9]
What you can do to protect your privacy
So, what can you do if you are concerned about how social media companies use your personal information? There are several steps you can take here to minimise your online footprint and protect your digital privacy. If possible and practical, try to disclose as little personally identifiable information about yourself on these platforms to reduce the risk of it being used by an AI algorithm. Increasing privacy settings is another key step in case a platform’s terms allow it to use data for AI from your public posts. You can also inform social media companies that you do not wish to have your personal data used to train their AI models. The ability to opt out and to what extent will, of course, vary across platforms and depend on which jurisdiction you are in. It is also imperative to opt out sooner rather than later as on many platforms opting out is not retrospective. So, any of your personal data previously processed by their AI models will not be deleted. These recommendations extend not just to yourself but your family and friends as well, as unless they also take steps to increase their privacy and opt out, social media companies will be entitled to use their data even if it includes personal information about you.
The future remains uncertain
As AI remains in its infancy, we are yet to see the full implications of how social media companies use user data. Those who advocate allowing these firms to use personal information argue that the potential technological advancements and societal benefits outweigh people’s privacy concerns.[10] They also argue that if AI cannot be trained on real data and, instead, relies on its own synthetic data, the risk of so-called AI hallucinations will only grow. However, users cannot simply rely on the goodwill of social media companies given the genuine concerns over what data they intend to use (or are already using), how it will be used and stored, and for how long. As a result, while these uncertainties remain and data privacy regulations play catch-up with the latest AI developments, you are best exercising caution, increasing your privacy settings and choosing to opt out where possible.
[1] Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj4d5jjqg2qo ; https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/sep/26/will-the-goodbye-meta-ai-message-protect-users-posts-from-being-used-to-train-ai ; https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/goodbye-meta-ai-instagram-post-disclaimer-b2619135.html
[2] Source: https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/7/27/23808499/ai-openai-google-meta-data-privacy-nope
[3] Source: https://kpmg.com/uk/en/home/media/press-releases/2023/05/despite-the-hype-theres-a-long-way-to-go-to-convince-consumers-of-the-benefits-of-ai.html ; https://iapp.org/resources/article/consumer-perspectives-of-privacy-and-ai/
[4] Source: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/09/ftc-staff-report-finds-large-social-media-video-streaming-companies-have-engaged-vast-surveillance
[5] Source: https://www.wired.com/story/reddits-sale-user-data-ai-training-draws-ftc-investigation/
[6] Source: https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/03/hey-uk-heres-how-to-opt-out-of-meta-using-your-facebook-and-instagram-data-to-train-its-ai/
[7] Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy89x4y1pmgo
[8] Source: https://www.nytimes.com/article/meta-ai-scraping-policy.html
[9] Source: https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a5538339 ; https://www.thestack.technology/linkedin-trains-ai-on-personal-data/
[10] Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/roomykhan/2024/10/04/ai-training-data-dilemma-legal-experts-argue-for-fair-use/
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Digitalis
We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability.
To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level. These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.
This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.
Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML, adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.
If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email webrequests@digitalis.com
Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements, alongside console screenshots of code examples:
Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website. In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels; descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups), and others. Additionally, the background process scans all of the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology. To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on as soon as they enter the website.
These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.
Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside of it.
Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers), both for Windows and for MAC users.
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs, there may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to webrequests@digitalis.com