Meta Pauses AI Image Feature After Privacy Backlash

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has paused its new AI image tool, Muse Image, just three days after its launch. The decision was made on Friday in response to significant backlash over privacy and copyright issues.

The Muse Image feature, introduced on Tuesday as part of Meta's broader push into generative AI products, allowed users to create AI-generated images from photos posted on public Instagram accounts. Critics objected that public Instagram accounts were used by default, without an explicit opt-in process.

"Our intent was to provide a useful creative tool and to give people control over whether their public content could be referenced in this way," Meta stated in a release on Friday afternoon. "We've heard the feedback that this feature missed the mark, so it’s no longer available."

Blowback came from various sectors, including Hollywood. Creative Artists Agency (CAA) described Meta's decision to grant the AI feature access to public Instagram content as irresponsible. The union SAG-AFTRA, representing actors and other media professionals, urged members to opt out and accused Meta of underestimating issues related to digital likeness rights.