Meta has abruptly taken down a new feature that let people use its artificial intelligence tool to create fake images from Instagram content, after days of backlash over privacy concerns. The feature, part of a broad rollout of Muse Image on Tuesday, allowed users of the Meta AI chatbot to tag public-facing accounts and quickly generate AI-altered images using content from those accounts. Instagram users were opted in by default, meaning anyone with a public account could have their likeness used without permission.
The blowback was swift. The London-based human rights charity Privacy International told the BBC it was “the latest sign AI companies see people's images and data as raw material to be exploited”. Hollywood union Sag-Aftra, which had urged members to take action, described the U-turn as a “win”, stating there had been an “utter miscalculation of public sentiment regarding the obvious dangers and harms inherent in such use”.
“Meta pulls AI image tool after privacy backlash, admits it missed the mark”
Meta admitted it had “missed the mark”. The feature is “no longer available”. In a statement, Meta added: “Our intent was to provide a useful creative tool and to give people control over whether their public content could be referenced in this way. We've heard the feedback.” When announcing Muse Image, the firm said it was limited to Instagram, but more AI features were planned for WhatsApp, Facebook and Messenger, and it has an AI video tool in development. Meta declined to make any further comment.
In a separate development, the tech giant is rolling out a new safety feature that will alert parents if their teenager discusses suicide or self-harm with Instagram's built-in AI chatbot. The move aims to address concerns about the impact of AI on vulnerable users, contrasting with the privacy storm that forced the removal of the image-generation tool.