Meta will use your data to train Meta AI – but it could be illegal!
Austrian NGO NOYB challenges Meta yet again and sends a cease-and-desist letter to stop the Big Tech from abusing your data.
If you use Meta products like WhatsApp, you may have been annoyed with the arrival of Meta AI – you didn’t consent to let the AI chatbot into your WhatsApp and Meta tools, and even worse, you can’t turn it off. Now, Meta is going a step further – and has announced that it will start using your public data for AI training, and no, you also didn’t choose to opt-in - but you can still opt-out.
First things first: Object to Meta AI using your data
If you received an email from Meta with the subject “Learn how we’ll use your information as we improve AI at Meta” open it and follow these steps: Under the heading What you can do click on Object this will take you to the objection form. From there enter your email address and click Submit.
If you’ve received an email from Meta with the subject line “Learn how we’ll use your information as we improve AI at Meta” we’d highly recommend you opt-out of having your data used for AI training. To do this click “Object” which can be found under the heading “What you can do” and follow the steps. You should then receive an email informing you that Meta will honor your objection. Screenshot: Meta’s emails.
If you’re a Facebook or Instagram user located in the EU, you will have received an email from Meta informing you that your data will be used for AI training, and if you read the whole email you will have seen a link to object to Meta using your data for these purposes.
Opt-in rather than opt-out
This is where the issue arises: instead of explicitly asking you to opt in to having your data used, Meta decided to opt you in by default, and only gave you the option to opt-out. Meta claims that this usage of personal data is legal, and based this claim on its legitimate interest to use user data according to GDPR legislation. But the tech giant is not stopping there - it has even gone a step further and has said the opt-out only applies if it’s done before the AI training has begun. So if you object after the 26th of May, your new posts won’t be used for AI training but anything Meta collected before you objected, cannot be undone.
This has caused, NOYB to send Meta Ireland a cease-and-desist letter.
NOYB claims that Meta is not in compliance with the GDPR and that it is violating users’ rights over their personal data. For example, the right to be forgotten or the right to have incorrect data rectified. Because Meta’s AI models are open source, meaning anyone can use and download them, it is even more difficult for Meta to update and call back a model once published.
Online, people have shared their concerns and anger towards Meta’s decision to use all Facebook and Instagram user data without asking for explicit consent. Screenshots: Reddit.
As Max Schrems, Chairperson of NOYB said,
“The European Court of Justice has already held that Meta cannot claim a ‘legitimate interest’ in targeting users with advertising. How should it have a ‘legitimate interest’ to suck up all data for AI training? While the ‘legitimate interest’ assessment is always a multi-factor test, all factors seem to point in the wrong direction for Meta. Meta simply says that it’s interest in making money is more important than the rights of its users.” - Max Schrems
This should really have Meta worried – particularly considering who the tech giant is up against: Max Schrems already scored an enormous victory against Meta in 2022 when it had to pay a fine of 1.2 billion euros for violating the GDPR.
Meta must ask for consent
It’s common knowledge that Meta makes its billions from user data, so it comes as no surprise that it wants to brazenly opt you in to having your public data used for AI training – even if it’s not fully compliant with the GDPR.
But there is a simple and legal solution for Meta: it should ask you to opt-in rather than requiring you to opt-out. As NOYB has said, because Meta has such an extensive user base - even if just 10% or more of its users within the EU consented and opted in - it would be a sufficient number for the AI models to learn European languages and more. Additionally, it highlights the fact that if Meta went about this the right way, being clear about the conditions for training, then people would be more likely to consent to their data being used. The non-profit also brought forward the fact that other AIs for example, French Mistral, have no access to social media data yet still perform better than Meta’s AI. This example again underlines how absurd it is that Meta claims it needs the public data of everyone to train its AI models.
Potential class action
NOYB has warned that as next steps, it would potentially bring an injunction to stop Meta, and if an injunction is granted by the competent court, Meta would need to stop the data processing and delete any systems trained with the illegal data. The injunction would also mean that people whose data is used could file damage claims.
”We are currently evaluating our options to file injunctions, but there is also the option for a subsequent class action for non-material damages. If you think about the more than 400 million European Meta users who could all demand damages of just €500 or so, you can do the math. We are very surprised that Meta would take this risk just to avoid asking users for their consent.” - Max Schrems
Will Meta do the right thing?
Just last year, Meta’s plans to use EU user data and introduce Meta AI were put on hold after NOYB filled 11 complaints in European countries . While the rollout was initially stopped, in March 2025, Meta officially started rolling out Meta AI with its AI chatbot in Europe. The arrival of the blue Meta AI circle in user’s apps, notably WhatsApp, sparked concern and outrage online as users learned the AI tool could not be disabled or turned off.
WhatsApp users were surprised to see the Meta AI chatbot function show up in their messenger - which they didn’t turn on, and which can’t be disabled. Screenshots: Reddit.
Meta’s plan to use EU user data and roll out its AI models, surprisingly also came after it was hit with a 1.2 billion euro fine for violating the GDPR in 2023 – after it was discovered it was sending the data of Europeans to the US. This was a huge win for Max Schrems and NOYB.
Meta’s next step on data usage and data abuse is a logical one for the tech giant given that it’s a profit driven company that has shown in its company history that is does not care for its users’ privacy rights. And the user data Meta stores is extremely valuable, and a goldmine when it comes to AI training.
While it would be the right thing to let all users – not just EU users – to opt in for Meta’s AI training, it could be that the EU’s data protection regulations, the GDPR, will force Meta to change its settings to better protect EU citizen’s data from Facebook’s extensive data collection.
Keeping up the good fight: Thank you NOYB!
As a German-based email and calendar provider actively fighting to protect European citizens’ privacy, for example through challenging chat control, we are grateful for organizations like NOYB who also continue to fight for the digital privacy and protection of EU citizens notably against American Big Tech.
Together we can make the web a better place.
