Case Report: Meta Can Legally Use Your Instagram and Facebook Posts to Train Its AI (Consumer Advice Centre NRW v. Meta)

A court in Europe just handed Meta a legal win, ruling that your public Facebook and Instagram posts can train its next-generation AI.

Meta just got the green light from a German court to use public user posts to train its AI systems. This decision is a big deal, not just for tech companies, but for anyone sharing content on Facebook and Instagram. In this newsletter, we break down what the court ruled, why it matters for digital rights in Europe, and what it could mean for the future of AI and privacy.

🧠 AI Training and Your Facebook Posts? What This Case Was All About

Meta Platforms Ireland, the company behind Facebook and Instagram in Europe, has recently been at the centre of a legal case in Germany.

Case Report: What Happens When Your Photos Train AI Without Your Consent? (Getty Images v Stability AI)

The Consumer Advice Center of North Rhine-Westphalia challenged Meta’s plan to use publicly available user data for training artificial intelligence systems. This includes information such as names, profile pictures, posts, and comments that users have made visible to the public on their accounts.

The consumer group raised objections on the basis of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The primary concern was that Meta’s updated privacy policy did not provide users with a clear, active choice to consent before their public data was used for AI training. They argued that this kind of data processing requires users to explicitly agree in advance. The group also claimed that the use of the data in this way could not be justified by Meta under the legal concept of "legitimate interest".

The Cologne Higher Regional Court reviewed the complaint and the legal documents provided by both parties.

The court found that Meta’s updated terms of service did not violate GDPR or the DMA. The court considered that public data, which users have deliberately made visible, can be used for AI training if it meets specific legal requirements.

The judgment highlighted that Meta’s privacy policy update and its explanation of data processing were sufficiently transparent.