Meta to halt AI releases in EU due to ‘unpredictable’ regulations

U.S. tech giant Meta (NASDAQ: META) will not roll out the latest Llama AI model in the European Union (EU) due to the region’s regulatory uncertainty.

The Facebook and Instagram parent company has struggled with European regulators for years, with AI the latest battleground. Following intense lobbying by privacy advocacy groups, EU watchdogs barred the company from using public posts on its social media platforms to train its AI models. Meta is retaliating by barring the users from this and other future updates to its AI models.

“We will release a multimodal Llama model over the coming months, but not in the EU due to the unpredictable nature of the European regulatory environment,” the company revealed in a statement shared with Axios.

Llama is Meta’s open-source large language model, competing with OpenAI’s GPT, Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Gemini, and Anthropic’s Claude.

The upcoming release will make Llama a multimodal LLM, allowing it to work beyond text and encompass video, audio, and images. Llama also intends to promote the updated model to a wider range of products and applications, including its Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses.

Meta’s ban will extend to companies that leverage its updated AI models, barring them from serving EU customers. This is a big blow to hundreds of companies relying on Llama as the EU, with a GDP of $19 trillion and a population of 450 million, is one of the world’s largest markets.

It all stems from the EU’s AI Act. Passed by the European Parliament earlier this year, it’s the world’s most extensive regional AI framework, with provisions protecting user data and curbing anti-competitive practices.

Meta’s specific qualm is that public posts on Facebook and Instagram—both have five billion combined users—can’t be used to train AI. Brazil has taken a similar stance, which Meta has described as a “step backwards for innovation.”

According to spokesperson Kate McLaughlin, the U.K. will not suffer the same fate. While its AI framework is almost identical to the EU’s, Meta says the country has been more accommodating.

Unrelenting EU

Meta follows Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), which announced last month that it won’t launch AI features in its upcoming product lineup for EU users. Apple has been investing heavily in AI to catch up with fellow tech titans and has partnered with OpenAI to provide AI services on its upcoming iPhones.

The EU’s crackdown on its payments stranglehold was the last straw for Apple. The Cupertino, California-based firm was recently forced to offer access to its technology and platform under the region’s Digital Markets Act.

Despite pressure from American tech giants to ease up on its new laws, the EU is unrelenting. The recently re-elected European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen reiterated that the region will continue to protect users and local tech firms.

In a policy paper outlining the focus of her second term as head of the regional executive arm, she said she would “ramp up and intensify our enforcement.”

“Tech giants must assume responsibility for their enormous systemic power in our society and economy,” she added.

While the companies isolate the EU, they insist that the region must be involved in developing AI for diversity. A Meta representative told one outlet that training its AI on European data would ensure that its LLMs reflect the region’s rich and diverse culture, languages, and terminologies.

Previously, Meta claimed that it had been unfairly targeted, alleging that its peers, including Google and OpenAI, were already training their AI on European data.

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