A new feature introduced by Meta, which enabled users to generate AI images from public Instagram accounts, was met with immediate and widespread backlash following its announcement earlier this week.
In response to the significant public outcry, Meta has swiftly moved to deactivate the controversial feature. The functionality, as initially conceived, allowed users to create AI-generated images simply by tagging public Instagram accounts, meaning content from any public profile could be utilized in AI creations without the account owner's explicit consent.
Addressing the controversy in an updated blog post about its new Muse Image AI model, Meta stated, "Earlier this week, we announced that one way for people to generate images in Meta AI is by @-mentioning public Instagram accounts that they want to reference." The company clarified its original intention, explaining, "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." However, acknowledging the public's reaction, Meta concluded, "We’ve heard the feedback that this feature missed the mark, so it’s no longer available."
Although Meta had initially offered an opt-out option, requiring users to navigate through various settings to disable the feature, this provision did little to mitigate the substantial criticism it garnered before its complete removal.
Among the outspoken critics was Haley McNamara, executive director and chief strategy officer of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, who commented earlier on Friday, "Not only does this obviously erode our rights to our own likeness… but it is an obvious tool for #sextortion and other scammers!" McNamara further condemned the implementation, stating, "Pursuing high-risk design & then putting the onus on individuals to jump through hoops to opt out is unacceptable."
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) had also proactively advised its members to opt out of the feature, providing detailed instructions on how to do so.
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