Meta disables Instagram AI image feature that used public accounts without consent

Meta has disabled a newly launched Instagram AI image generation feature after it drew significant backlash for allowing users to create AI images based on content from public Instagram accounts without the account owners’ permission. The feature, announced on Tuesday, used an @-mention to tag public accounts, incorporating their content into AI-generated images automatically.

Meta stated in an update to a blog post about its Muse Image AI model that it had intended to provide a ‘useful creative tool’ and to give people control over whether their public content could be referenced in this way. However, the company acknowledged that the feature ‘missed the mark’ and was no longer available.

Before disabling the feature, Meta had allowed users to opt out by adjusting their settings, but the approach still faced criticism. Haley McNamara, executive director and chief strategy officer of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, criticized the feature as eroding rights to likeness and enabling risks such as sextortion and scams.

The Screen Actors Guild also intervened, recommending that its members opt out of the feature and providing instructions on how to do so. The backlash reflects broader concerns about AI systems leveraging public data without explicit consent and the potential for misuse in generating non-consensual or harmful content.