User privacy controversy escalates, Facebook's parent company Meta forced to remove AI image generation feature from its social platform

After facing strong protests from users and public scrutiny, Meta recently announced the official shutdown of its AI image generation feature "Muse Image" launched on its social platform Instagram. This marks another setback for the tech giant in its efforts to commercialize generative artificial intelligence applications, as it has once again encountered issues related to user privacy and data security.

In an official statement, Meta acknowledged that the feature "failed to meet expectations" in practical application and stated that it has heard user feedback and has now ceased to provide the service. Previously, Meta claimed that the original intention of developing this feature was to provide a "useful creative tool" and to give users control over their public images.

However, it was this feature, which touted "user autonomy," that sparked a huge controversy. It is understood that Meta quietly launched this feature on Instagram last week and, without sufficient prompts and obtaining explicit user consent, defaulted to including all users' public account content in the AI training and generation material library. Users discovered that anyone chatting with Meta AI on Instagram could simply mention a friend or any public account using the "@" function, allowing them to access personal photos and modify or synthesize new digital images based on text prompts without the consent of the other party.

This move has raised deep concerns among the public regarding personal portrait rights, privacy rights, and the misuse of AI technology. The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) issued a statement strongly condemning Meta's default inclusion mechanism. The union emphasized that any non-explicit, non-obvious informed consent mechanism regarding the use of users' portraits is unacceptable and warned that this could easily lead to a proliferation of "involuntary digital replicas," posing a serious threat to personal information security.

Analysts pointed out that this is not the only privacy controversy Meta has faced recently. Last week, due to social controversies surrounding "secret photography" caused by smart glasses' cameras, Meta was forced to release a mandatory system update: if the privacy indicator light on the smart glasses is blocked or tampered with, the camera function will be automatically disabled.

Industry experts stated that although Meta has urgently taken down "Muse Image," it remains unclear whether the company will reintroduce the feature in another form in the future. This privacy controversy has once again exposed significant gaps in the tech giant's approach to the artificial intelligence industry regarding ethical technology, user privacy protection, and compliance review