Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has come under scrutiny for using public posts and photos from its platforms to train artificial intelligence (AI) models. European users are allowed to opt out of this data scraping due to the strict privacy laws under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). However, Australians don’t have the same option, as revealed during a recent parliamentary inquiry.

Meta paused its AI product launch in Europe back in July after being forced to comply with GDPR regulations. The privacy laws in Europe led to Meta halting the use of European data for training its large language models, and as part of these regulations, European users can now opt out of having their content used. Despite this, the same protections are not extended to Australians.

During a hearing focused on AI adoption in Australia, Senator Tony Sheldon pressed Meta executives on the lack of an opt-out option for Australian users. “I’d like to opt out in Australia, just like Europeans can. Why don’t Australians have that option?” Sheldon asked.

Meta’s director of privacy policy, Melinda Claybaugh, responded by saying that the company only scrapes public posts from users over the age of 18. She clarified that the opt-out option in Europe came about due to specific legal frameworks under the GDPR. However, she didn’t confirm whether a similar option would ever be introduced in Australia.

The discussion continued as Senator David Shoebridge pointed out that Meta has been scraping public posts from Australians since 2007. He emphasized that unless users had actively set their posts to private, their content had been collected for AI training for over a decade. “Isn’t it true that unless someone specifically made their posts private, Meta has been scraping all public photos and text shared by Australians on Facebook and Instagram since 2007?” Shoebridge asked.

Claybaugh confirmed this was correct but noted that users can set their future posts to private to prevent additional data scraping. However, she admitted that this wouldn’t stop the data that had already been collected.

Senator Sheldon expressed frustration, stating that millions of Australians have had their personal content used for AI training without their knowledge or consent. “Australians didn’t sign up for this. Their photos, videos, and personal stories are being used to train AI models without their permission. It’s a serious breach of privacy and trust,” Sheldon argued.

He also voiced the growing discontent with tech giants globally, saying, “People are tired of big tech companies like Meta ignoring user rights and privacy laws. Australians feel their basic rights are being dismissed, and it’s time for the government to step in and fix this.”

Privacy advocates have echoed these concerns, urging Australian lawmakers to enact stronger data protection laws similar to the GDPR to protect users’ data. While Europe’s regulations are seen as a model, Australia’s current legal framework does not offer the same level of protection.

As of now, Meta hasn’t announced any plans to extend the opt-out option to Australians, leaving users in the country subject to ongoing data collection for AI training with limited control. The parliamentary inquiry has ignited debates about whether Australia’s privacy laws are sufficient to safeguard users in the fast-evolving digital landscape.

With calls for reform growing louder, the inquiry into AI and data privacy is expected to continue, and Australians may soon demand stronger protections to prevent tech companies from exploiting their personal data without explicit consent.