Meta Disables Instagram’s AI Deepfake Feature for Public Accounts

In response to widespread criticism, Meta has decided to disable a recently announced feature that allowed users to create AI-generated images by tagging public Instagram accounts. Initially, this feature enabled the use of content from any public account for AI creations without needing permission from the account owners.

Meta explained, “Earlier this week, we announced that one way for people to generate images in Meta AI is by @-mentioning public Instagram accounts that they want to reference. 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. We’ve heard the feedback that this feature missed the mark, so it’s no longer available.”

While users had the option to opt out by navigating through settings, the feature still faced significant backlash. Haley McNamara, executive director and chief strategy officer of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, expressed concerns, stating, “Not only does this obviously erode our rights to our own likeness… but it is an obvious tool for #sextortion and other scammers! Pursuing high-risk design & then putting the onus on individuals to jump through hoops to opt out is unacceptable.”

The Screen Actors Guild also advised its members to opt out of the feature and provided guidance on how to do so.