Meta, formerly known as Facebook, decided to temporarily stop the implementation of its artificial intelligence-based virtual assistant in response to the ban imposed by the Brazilian National Data Protection Authority (ANPD). This decision represents a significant setback for the company in its effort to perfect its artificial intelligence algorithms using personal information of Brazilian citizens. The suspension of this practice negatively impacts Facebook's expansion strategy in the Brazilian market, which has a population that exceeds 200 million inhabitants.
According to what is established in the official document, the competent authority of Brazil stated that the adoption of the preventive measure responds to the “potential imminent risk of causing serious damage and irreparable harm or damage that is difficult to repair to the fundamental rights of the authors.”
In addition, the National Data Protection Authority established a daily fine of 50.000 reais in the event of non-compliance by the company.
An official representative of Meta ratified the determination in a statement: “We have made the decision to temporarily interrupt the genAI functionalities that were previously in operation in Brazil, waiting to establish a dialogue with the National Data Protection Authority to address your questions in relation to genAI.”
Meta has already been hard at work training its artificial intelligence using user-generated content in the United States and other international markets for an extensive period of time. However, in May, Meta was forced to temporarily halt plans to train its advanced artificial intelligence models in Europe and the United Kingdom, due to opposition from the respected Data Protection Commission of Ireland.
