Facebook uses Australian adults public photos/posts to train AI, without opt-out

Facebook has acknowledged that it scrapes public data from all Australian adult users, including photos and posts, to train its artificial intelligence models. Unlike users in the European Union, Australians do not have an opt-out option due to the absence of stringent privacy laws in Australia. During a senate inquiry, Meta's global privacy director, Melinda Claybaugh, confirmed that unless users have set their posts to private, their public data has been collected since 2007. While accounts of users under 18 are not scraped, public photos of minors can still be collected if their parents' accounts are public. The inquiry highlighted the disparity in privacy protections between Australia and Europe, with Australian users lacking the same rights to opt out of data collection for AI training. Claybaugh noted that the need for extensive data is crucial for developing effective AI tools. The Australian government is expected to announce reforms to the Privacy Act, which has been criticized for being outdated, particularly in light of the ongoing discussions about online safety for children.

- Facebook scrapes public data from all Australian adult users for AI training.

- No opt-out option is available for Australians, unlike users in the EU.

- Data collection has been ongoing since 2007 unless posts are set to private.

- The Australian government plans to reform the Privacy Act in response to these issues.

- Concerns about online safety for children are prompting discussions on privacy laws.