Meta Platforms Inc., Facebook’s parent company, has postponed the launch of its Meta AI chatbot in Europe. This decision follows a request from European regulators to halt training its large language models (LLMs) using user posts from the region.
Originally, Meta planned to train its LLM, Llama, with public posts from European users. However, after the Irish Data Protection Commission intervened, Meta announced an indefinite delay.
Meta expressed concerns that this regulatory pushback hinders European innovation and competition in AI development, resulting in delayed benefits for Europeans from AI. “Without including local information, we’d only be able to offer people a second-rate experience,” Meta stated in a blog post.
Consequently, Meta AI’s European launch is on hold.
Despite the setback, Meta remains committed to eventually bringing these AI products to Europe, though no timeline has been provided. As of late 2023, Facebook had 308 million daily active users in Europe, highlighting the region’s importance to the company.
Meta continues to invest heavily in AI to compete with tech giants like Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Microsoft Corp., and OpenAI. The company introduced its latest LLM, Llama 3, in April and offers the Meta AI assistant to users in the US. Large language models, like Llama, are fundamental to generative AI technologies, including chatbots.
Meta’s efforts to expand its AI capabilities underscore its strategic focus on maintaining a competitive edge in the rapidly evolving AI landscape, even as it navigates regulatory challenges in Europe.
