Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg [Reuters]
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg [Reuters]

SAG-AFTRA, the Hollywood actors and broadcasters union, has pushed back against Meta's use of Instagram images to power its newly launched AI image generator, Muse Image.

In a statement Friday titled "Statement on Meta's New AI Image Generation Tool, Muse Image," the union said that failing to obtain clear and prominent opt-in consent before using Instagram users' images in this way "is unacceptable."

The union said the move "completely misjudges public sentiment about the obvious risks and harms inherent in such use."

Meta launched Muse Image on Tuesday alongside a feature that allows users to generate new AI images based on photos from other people's public Instagram accounts. Through Meta's AI app, any user can take another person's publicly shared photos and use them to create new AI-generated images.

The feature has drawn significant backlash over privacy concerns. Public photos are available for AI use by default, and account holders have no way of knowing how their images are being used.

Wariness toward AI has been running high in the US entertainment industry, as deepfakes and similar technologies have been used to produce videos and images depicting celebrities' actions or words without their permission.

Last year, OpenAI's Sora 2 drew controversy after it generated likenesses of deceased celebrities without the consent of their families.

SAG-AFTRA also explained how users can opt out of Muse Image. "To prevent your Instagram posts from being used in AI generation without switching to a private account, you'll need to dig into the app settings," the union said.

To change the setting, users should tap their app profile, press the three-line menu button in the upper right corner of the screen, then go to the Sharing and Reuse tab and turn off "Allow people to use your content with Instagram and Meta AI features."

Meanwhile, Meta said private accounts and accounts belonging to users under 18 are excluded from the feature. The company added that it will take action if content generated through the tool violates its community standards.


ygmoon@heraldcorp.com