Meta Halts AI Use in Brazil Following Data Protection Authority's Ban

Meta has suspended the use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in Brazil after the country's data protection authority issued a preliminary ban objecting to its new privacy policy.

The development was first reported by news agency Reuters.

The company said it has decided to suspend the tools while it is in talks with Brazil's National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) to address the agency's concerns over its use of GenAI technology.

Earlier this month, ANPD halted with immediate effect the social media giant's new privacy policy that granted the company access to users' personal data to train its GenAI systems.

The decision stems from "the imminent risk of serious and irreparable damage or difficult-to-repair damage to the fundamental rights of the affected data subjects," the agency said.

It further set a daily fine of 50,000 reais (about $9,100 as of July 18) in case of non-compliance. Last week, it gave Meta "five more days to prove compliance with the decision."

In response, Meta said it was "disappointed" by ANPD's decision and that the move constitutes "a step backwards for innovation, competition in AI development and further delays bringing the benefits of AI to people in Brazil."

The use of personal data to train AI systems without their express consent or knowledge has raised privacy concerns, forcing U.S.-based tech giants to pause the rollout of their tools in regions with stricter data privacy laws, such as the European Union.

The Human Rights Watch reported in June how personal photos of Brazilian children have found their way to image caption datasets like LAION-5B, exposing them to further exploitation and harm through the facilitation of malicious deepfakes.

Apple, which announced a new AI system called Apple Intelligence last month, has said it won't be bringing the features to Europe this year due to the prevailing regulatory concerns arising from the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

"We are concerned that the interoperability requirements of the DMA could force us to compromise the integrity of our products in ways that risk user privacy and data security," Apple was quoted as saying to The Wall Street Journal.

Meta has since confirmed to Axios that it will also be withholding its upcoming multimodal AI models from customers in the region because of the "unpredictable nature of the European regulatory environment."