Meta and other AI giants are justifying their use of personal data in Europe by invoking the concept of “legitimate interest,” a legal basis that allows them to avoid seeking your explicit and prior consent for AI training purposes. While they do offer users the possibility to object to such processing this right is limited, individuals must demonstrate “grounds relating to [their] particular situation.”
As Mathilde Croze, our partner, pointed out in an interview with La Tribune, relying on legitimate interest requires a balancing test between the necessity of the processing and the fundamental rights and interests of the individuals concerned.
However, when personal data is used to train generative AI tools for “recreational” purposes—such as ChatGPT or Meta AI—as opposed to training AI models for medical apps, where the collective interest is clear—the reliance becomes more questionable. Moreover, the right to object is significantly weaker than a straightforward opt-out mechanism.
Read Mathilde Croze’s full analysis in Marine Protais’s article
