Zuckerberg and Ek’s concerns emphasize the importance of balanced regulation of developing technologies.
Meta and Spotify, two major tech leaders, have expressed their concerns about what they consider excessively restrictive AI regulations in the European Union.
In a joint statement released on Friday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Spotify CEO Daniel Ek criticized the EU’s regulatory approach, especially regarding open-source AI development.
They argue that the current regulations are stifling innovation and hindering progress in artificial intelligence.
Spotify’s Concerns for the Creative Industry
Spotify, known for its AI-driven music recommendations, shares Meta’s concerns. CEO Daniel Ek emphasized that AI has been crucial for Spotify’s personalized user experience.
He fears that the EU’s stringent regulations could impede the development of open-source AI, which is vital for the growth of the streaming industry and the creative sector.
Meta’s AI Development Challenges
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has been particularly outspoken about the impact of EU regulations.
Zuckerberg noted that Meta has been unable to train its AI models using public data from its platforms due to unclear legislation on data usage. He said:
“In the short term, delaying the use of data that is routinely used in other regions means the most powerful AI models won’t reflect the collective knowledge, culture, and languages of Europe—and Europeans won’t get to use the latest AI products.”
Meta has announced it will delay the release of its upcoming AI models, including the anticipated Llama multimodal model, due to regulatory uncertainties.
Additionally, on June 5, Meta faced 11 objections from None of Your Business (NYOB), which claimed that Meta’s planned changes to AI data usage might violate EU data protection rules due to insufficient user consent.
In a related case, Google was sued in July 2023 over allegations that its updated privacy policy permitted the use of extensive data, including copyrighted materials, for AI development.
