Meta and Apple postpone AI release due to EU data protection and Digital Markets Act regulations.

Meta and Apple decide to postpone AI release in Europe
Meta faces pre-use exclusion issue with data for AI learning
Apple faces third-party service compatibility issue as gatekeeper with ‘Apple Intelligence’
EU AI law to be enforced from December
Tougher regulations on AI services in Europe anticipated
‘[E-Daily Kim Hyun-ah IT Specialist] Meta and Apple have decided to postpone the release of artificial intelligence (AI) in Europe in accordance with the strong regulations on personal information protection and digital market law (DMA) by the European Union (EU). Meta is facing the pre-use exclusion (opt-out) issue for data utilization in AI learning, while Apple is grappling with the third-party service compatibility issue as a gatekeeper. With the AI law set to be enforced at the end of the year, it is expected that it will become more challenging for big tech companies from the United States to provide services in Europe.’
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‘Meta announced on the 14th (local time) through its official blog that it requested the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) to delay the use of publicly shared content by users on platforms like Facebook and Instagram for training massive language models (LLMs). As a result, Meta stated that it will temporarily postpone the launch of ‘Meta AI’ in the EU. Meta expressed disappointment at the request from the DPC, stating, “If we do not include regional information, we can only provide experiences based on overseas data in Europe. This means that Meta AI cannot currently be launched in Europe.”
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‘Apple also announced on the 21st (local time) that it will postpone incorporating the new AI feature ‘Apple Intelligence’ into devices such as the iPhone in Europe. This is due to the EU’s Digital Market Law (DMA) which stipulates compatibility with third-party services, a regulation that Apple believes could jeopardize the integrity of its products and services by exposing them to potential risks from compromising user data and information security. Apple expressed concern in its statement, stating, “The compatibility requirements of the DMA could force us to jeopardize the integrity of our products in a way that exposes user privacy and data security to risks.”
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‘IT experts predict that big tech companies’ AI services in Europe will face even more stringent regulations starting next year. The EU’s AI law will kick off this year from December, beginning with high-risk AI regulations such as real-time banning of CCTV facial recognition, and followed by mandatory reporting on general-purpose artificial intelligence models starting in May next year. AI regulations on products will be enforced starting in 2027, meaning that from May next year, OpenAI, Google, Naver, and other generative AI foundation models must disclose the content and training data generated by their models.
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‘Sung-yeop Lee, director of the Korea University Center for Technology Policy, stated, “The EU’s AI law is overly burdensome, making it difficult for companies to comply, and if it is difficult for companies to comply, it will also make enforcement difficult.” He added, “I hope that there will be a joint government and private sector system that our companies can collectively respond to.”
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