Meta and Spotify CEOs raise concerns over EU's stringent AI regulations, arguing they hinder innovation and global competitiveness for European companies.
The CEOs of Meta and Spotify have raised alarms about the restrictive artificial intelligence regulations in the European Union, arguing that they could stifle innovation. Mark Zuckerberg of Meta and Daniel Ek of Spotify released joint statements on August 24, expressing their dissatisfaction with the EU’s current regulatory approach, especially regarding open-source AI development.
Their main concern is that the stringent privacy regulations in the EU, particularly those involving the use of public data, are hampering the ability of European companies to compete on a global scale. Both leaders argue that these regulations are creating a challenging environment for AI innovation and progress.
Spotify’s Concerns for the Creative Industry
Daniel Ek highlighted that AI is a fundamental component of Spotify’s success, enabling the platform to deliver personalized experiences to its users. He expressed concern that the current EU regulatory framework could slow down the development of open-source AI, which he believes is vital for the future growth of both the streaming industry and the broader creative ecosystem.
Meta’s AI Development Hampered by Regulations
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has been particularly vocal about the difficulties it faces due to EU regulations. Mark Zuckerberg pointed out that Meta has been unable to train its AI models on public data from its platforms because of unclear legislation on data usage. This uncertainty, according to Zuckerberg, puts European AI development at a disadvantage compared to other regions where data is more accessible for AI training.
Meta has confirmed that, due to these regulatory uncertainties, it will delay the release of its upcoming AI models, including the much-anticipated Llama multimodal model, which can interpret and understand images.
In June, Meta faced objections from the group None of Your Business, which argued that Meta’s proposed changes to AI data usage might violate EU data protection laws by lacking proper user consent. Additionally, in July 2023, Google was sued over allegations that its updated privacy policy allowed the exploitation of extensive data, including copyrighted materials, in its AI development.
