DPC approves Meta's plans to resume AI training using European user's data
21/05/2025 | Data Protection commission
The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has approved Meta's plans to resume training its artificial intelligence (AI) models on 27 May 2025, following extensive engagement and the implementation of a series of data protection safeguards by Meta to ensure compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and risk mitigation.
According to the DPC statement, Meta initially informed the regulator of its intention to train its AI models using public Facebook and Instagram content in March 2024. The DPC identified several concerns at the time, leading Meta to pause its training plans in June 2024.
To achieve Europe-wide regulatory harmonisation, the DPC sought a formal Opinion on processing personal data for AI purposes from the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), which was published in December 2024, providing criteria for assessing AI model compliance.
Following the EDPB's Opinion, Meta reassessed its proposal and submitted updated documentation to the DPC in May 2025. After reviewing these revised plans and incorporating feedback from other EU/EEA supervisory authorities, the DPC made numerous recommendations to Meta regarding individuals' data protection rights. The DPC claims Meta has engaged proactively throughout the process, leading to the implementation of key improvements. These include:
- Updated transparency notices for users in 2024 and 2025
- An enhanced and more accessible in-app Objection Form available across all EEA jurisdictions for over a year
- Extended notice periods
- Guidance on changing public posts from private to public to avoid training
- Strengthened data protection measures such as de-identification and data filtering
- Updated its GDPR documentation, including risk assessments, Legitimate Interest Assessments and Data Protection Impact Assessments
Moving forward, the DPC will continue its ongoing monitoring, requiring Meta to compile a report by October 2025, which will evaluate the efficacy of these new safeguards. The DPC is actively overseeing the roll-out of Objection Forms and user information to ensure all individuals can object to processing their public posts.
The DPC stresses the importance for all social media users to regularly review their privacy settings to reflect personal preferences, and it remains committed to ensuring responsible innovation, risk mitigation, and consistent regulation for all entities developing and deploying AI models across the EU/EEA.
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