Meta's Muse Image AI Faces Pushback From Hollywood Over Opt-Out System
The conflict highlights a growing tension between tech companies' default data usage policies and the entertainment industry's demand for explicit consent over likeness rights.
Reporting from 1 source: KAI-YOU.
Meta's new image generation AI Muse Image, announced July 7, allows users to generate images based on public Instagram photos by default, with an opt-out system. Major talent agency CAA and actors' union SAG-AFTRA are demanding a change to an opt-in system that requires prior consent. The feature is rolling out in some countries but not yet in Japan.
Meta's new image generation AI Muse Image, announced July 7, allows users to generate images based on public Instagram photos by default, with no notification to the account owner. The feature, which can composite multiple photos or remove people, is being introduced in Meta AI, Instagram Stories, and WhatsApp, with plans for Facebook and Messenger. Public accounts are automatically opted in; users must manually disable the setting to refuse use. Private accounts and those of users under 18 are excluded, but images generated before opting out are not deleted.
In response, Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and SAG-AFTRA have pushed back, calling for an opt-in system where individuals explicitly consent. CAA argues that artists should decide how their likeness is used and wants usage conditions and tracking. SAG-AFTRA also demands explicit consent. The feature has not launched in Japan, but the settings are already present in the Instagram app.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.