Meta is ditching its AI image generation feature after widespread backlash

REUTERS -- Meta said on Friday it is discontinuing an AI feature launched this ​week that allowed users to generate images using public Instagram accounts, ‌after drawing widespread criticism over privacy concerns, including from a Hollywood union.

“Our intent was to provide a useful creative tool and to give people control over whether their public ​content could be referenced in this way,” Meta said in a statement.

“We’ve ​heard the feedback that this feature missed the mark, so ⁠it’s no longer available,” it said.

Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, had launched Muse ​Image on Tuesday, its first image-generation model from Meta Superintelligence Labs. The feature, ​integrated into its Meta AI chatbot, can use photos as input and lets users edit generated images directly through sketches.

The feature soon faced backlash over privacy concerns and being an ​automatic opt-in for users.

Emmy-winning actor Hannah Einbinder, known for Hacks, criticised the feature ​on Instagram, saying it had been turned on automatically and urging users to turn it ‌off.

SAG-AFTRA, the ⁠union representing actors and other media professionals, also urged members and other Instagram users on Thursday to opt out of the feature.

“Anything other than a clear and conspicuous opt-in for these types of uses of Instagram users’ images ​is unacceptable, and an ​utter miscalculation of ⁠public sentiment regarding the obvious dangers and harms inherent in such use,” SAG-AFTRA said.

Following Meta’s decision to remove the ​feature, SAG-AFTRA welcomed the move.

The reversal ⁠reflects ​increasing pressure on technology companies to give users ​clear control over how their publicly shared content is used by AI features.