In response to a request from the Irish privacy regulator about user data obtained from Facebook and Instagram, Meta Platforms has decided not to release its artificial intelligence assistant, Meta AI, in Europe at this time.

The US social media business made this announcement.

Following complaints, advocacy group NOYB called on data protection authorities in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Spain to take action against the corporation. This prompted Meta to take this action.

The intention of Meta to train its artificial intelligence (AI) models on personal data without obtaining authorization is under question, even though the business has stated that it will only use material that is publicly available and licensed online.

"We're disappointed by the request from the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), our lead regulator, on behalf of the European DPAs ... particularly since we incorporated regulatory feedback and the European DPAs have been informed since March," the company said

"Put simply, without including local information we'd only be able to offer people a second-rate experience. This means we aren't able to launch Meta AI in Europe at the moment," Meta said.

According to Meta, it was requested by the Irish privacy watchdog to postpone using public content published by adult Facebook and Instagram users to train its large language models (LLMs).

It claimed that the Irish request represents a reversal of course for European competition and innovation in AI development.

The DPC praised Meta's delay, stating that it was the result of extensive consultation with the regulator.

According to Meta, the postponed release of its AI models will also enable it to respond to inquiries from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) in the UK.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) praised Meta's move and declared that it will keep an eye on big generative AI firms, like Meta, to evaluate the security measures they've put in place and make sure UK consumers' rights to their privacy are respected.

Max Schrems, the chair of NOYB, linked Meta's brief suspension to the organization's grievances submitted the previous week.