Austrian Group noyb Takes Legal Action Against Meta Over AI Data Use
Austrian privacy advocacy group noyb has taken legal action against Meta, sending a cease and desist letter and considering a class action lawsuit. If successful, Meta could face substantial damages, potentially totalling €137 billion, for at least 274 million users.
noyb is exploring potential class actions involving affected individuals, consumer protection organisations, and data protection authorities. The group aims to address Meta's unauthorised use of personal user data for AI training without explicit consent. Despite public outcry, at least 68.5 million people remain unaware of Meta's data use.
In the EU, at least 68 million users were not informed about this practice. Meta ensured that less than half of its users saw warnings about AI data use. Only 7% of German Meta users consent to their personal data being used for AI training. Meta justifies this action under the 'legitimate interest' legal basis, rather than obtaining user consent. The company began using European users' data for AI training without prior consent. Notably, men are more likely than women to allow Meta to use their data for this purpose (10% vs 4%).
noyb's legal action against Meta could result in significant damages, reflecting the seriousness of the alleged data misuse. The outcome may influence how tech giants handle user data and consent in the future.
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