Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp has confirmed it will not launch its multimodal AI model Llama 3 in the European Union due to concerns over the “unpredictable” regulatory environment.
Meta made this declaration amid ongoing unease at the obstacles in its way, due to the bloc’s introduction of legislation such as the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the upcoming EU AI Act/ Many other firms share the consternation and reluctance to launch products in the EU due to what is viewed as unfavorable conditions.
“We will release a multimodal Llama model over the coming months – but not in the EU due to the unpredictable nature of the European regulatory environment,” said a Meta spokesperson, underlining the friction between big tech and Brussels.
Multimodal AI models like Llama 3 are designed to work with several formats, including images, text, audio, and video. However, there will be no introduction for the open-source model in Europe, at least not for the foreseeable future.
It is believed the decision to pull Llama 3 from the EU relates specifically to concerns over compliance with GDPR rules. Meta has been compelled to pause training its AI with posts from Facebook and Instagram users due to a potential violation of privacy rules.
In recent days, the EU issued compliance deadlines for AI companies to adhere to the incoming AI Act, giving operators until August 2026 to react and make changes in areas such as copyright, transparency, and AI output.
Meta’s decision to abandon the EU rollout for Llama 3 follows a similar act by Apple, which has indicated it will likely skip Europe for the introduction of Apple Intelligence. This decision was directly impacted by the DMA, which is designed to prevent anti-competitive behaviors.
The iPhone maker believes compliance with the DMA rules would create vulnerability and potentially compromise the security of their devices.
Last month a company statement said, “Specifically, we are concerned that the interoperability requirements of the DMA could force us to compromise the integrity of our products in ways that risk user privacy and data security.”
Image credit: Via Unsplash
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