Meta Halts EU Launch of Advanced AI Model Amid Regulatory Concerns

In a move highlighting the growing tension between tech giants and European Union regulations, Mark Zuckerberg's Meta has announced that it will not release its advanced multimodal Llama model in the EU. The AI model, which can work with text, video, images, and audio, will be withheld due to concerns over the "unpredictable" nature of the European regulatory environment. 

The comprehensive Llama model, which is open-source and free to be downloaded and adapted by users, will however not be available in the EU. The decision comes in the wake of the upcoming EU AI Act and the new regulatory demands through the Digital Markets Act (DMA). 

The crux of the dispute lies in the compliance of the Llama model with the general data protection regulations (GDPR). Meta had previously been instructed to stop training its AI models with posts from Facebook and Instagram users in the EU due to potential violation of privacy rules. 

Despite ongoing discussions with Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, which overlooks Meta’s compliance with GDPR, Meta remains wary of other EU data watchdogs stepping in and stalling the approval process. Limited text-based versions of Llama are available in the EU and a new text-only version is expected to be released soon. 

This decision follows in the footsteps of Apple, which last month announced it would not roll out some of its new AI features in the EU due to similar regulatory concerns.

- CyberBeat