The new Privacy Policy applies to Instagram and Facebook users from Serbia as of June 26, due to which the SHARE Foundation will contact the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Protection of Personal Data in order to initiate proceedings against Meta.
Namely, according to the new rules, the content that users in our country publish on the two most popular platforms will serve for the training of Meta’s AI models and the production of content. artificial intelligence.
In addition to visible posts, likes, comments and messages, Meta can also use metadata such as publication time, geolocation, device type and the like; then, data on interactions with displayed content, data collected by Meta’s partners on user behavior on the Internet outside of Instagram and Facebook – and much more.
As far as is known, Meta did not even inform users from Serbia about these changes via email, which means that they are denied the freedom of informed choice. In this way, Meta abuses the position of Serbia and other countries outside the auspices of the EU protection of citizens’ rights, in favor of the development of profitable proprietary technology.
In early June, the European organization for digital rights, Noyb, warned the public about changes in Meta’s privacy policy for users in the EU (and EEA), but citizens in that area were left with the option not to consent to the processing of personal data for such purposes. The “opt-out” deadline was June 26, after which they would no longer have the option to refuse the processing of their data for the development of Meta’s AI models.
As specified, instead of seeking consent from each user, Meta invoked legitimate interest as a legal basis, which is against the standards of protection of personal data because the development of technology and profit cannot be more important than the right to privacy.
Noyb’s legal team filed 11 complaints with data protection authorities across Europe to prevent the Met from implementing the plan. In a complaint filed with the Personal Data Protection Commission of Ireland, which has jurisdiction over Meta in the EU/EEA, Noyb details the illegality of the company’s new rules and breaches of a number of provisions of Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
After Ireland’s Personal Data Protection Commission announced that Meta would suspend plans to use the data of EU/EEA users at will to develop its AI models, Noyb declared a “preliminary victory” on June 14. The pressure bore fruit. On the other hand, Meta assessed that it is “a step backwards for European innovation, competition in the development of artificial intelligence, which further delays the access of people in Europe to the advantages of artificial intelligence”.
Users from the EU can now read in Meta’s privacy policies that the use of their data for the development and improvement of AI has been postponed “after consultation with regulators”, as well as that they will be informed in time of any change in order to exercise their right to refuse data processing for such purposes.
Unfortunately, this is not the case in Serbia, so users here are left to the whims of large corporations. In the complaint against Meta, the SHARE Foundation will ask the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Protection of Personal Data to investigate the legality. It is worth reminding that Meta has not yet appointed a representative in Serbia for matters of personal data protection, which is its obligation under domestic law. The SHARE Foundation requested the initiation of misdemeanor proceedings in 2019.
Source: SHARE foundation
Source: www.advertiser-serbia.com
