Meta’s aspirations for AI in Brazil have suffered a serious setback. Citing worries about data privacy and possible threats to basic rights, Brazil’s National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) outlawed Meta’s AI helper.
A “imminent risk of serious harm” to Brazilians’ rights prompted the authority to take action, citing worries about AI models being trained on personal data. The ANPD did not make this decision lightly; non-compliance will result in a daily fine of 50,000 reais, or roughly $10,000 USD.
A Meta representative responded to the prohibition by saying,
“We have decided to halt genAI functionalities that were previously available in Brazil while we collaborate with the ANPD to address their concerns regarding genAI.”
The corporation has experienced problems with data inspection in the past, so the recent failure in Brazil is not an unusual instance.
Actually, Meta has been actively using user-generated material in the US and other markets for a number of years in order to train its AI. But this strategy has raised regulatory issues all across the world; early this year, in Europe, Meta encountered similar resistance from the authorities.
Examining Big Tech’s Aspirations in AI
With more than 200 million consumers, Brazil’s ban on Meta’s AI assistant poses a serious challenge for the business.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of the United Kingdom has intensified regulatory scrutiny over Big Tech’s AI initiatives with the beginning of a formal investigation into Microsoft’s acquisition of Inflection AI talent.
This probe is part of a larger pattern of increased regulatory attention on Big Tech’s AI investments and alliances.
Despite initial interest, the competition commission recently decided not to look into Microsoft’s cooperation with Mistral AI, demonstrating how complex the AI regulatory landscape has become and how carefully authorities balance supervision and innovation.
