Meta Pulls Instagram AI Feature After Privacy Backlash
Meta reverses course and removes its new Muse Image AI model from Instagram just days after debuting the feature to immediate public backlash. The company launches the tool on Tuesday, promoting it as a creative partner for generating AI photos, but draws swift criticism after automatically opting in all users without their consent.
The feature raises alarm among privacy advocates, performers, and labor unions alike. SAG-AFTRA calls the model "unacceptable," warning that it encourages nonconsensual digital replicas. Watchdog group Public Citizen also celebrates the takedown, declaring that public pressure forces Big Tech to respect user privacy rights.
The Instagram rollback only pauses the model on that platform, while Muse Image remains active on WhatsApp and the Meta AI app. The controversy echoes a similar incident last fall involving Meta's AI video generator Sora, which also shuts down after users raise copyright and consent concerns.