The DSA also requires platforms to provide clear information about AI recommender systems and to offer enhanced levels of ads transparency. In response, Meta is expanding its existing Ad Library to display and archive all ads that target people in the EU, along with other data points. The company is also rolling out new tools for researchers to study content on its platforms. However, these changes will only apply to users in the EU, leaving users in the US and UK with less control over what they see on Facebook and Instagram.
Key takeaways:
- Meta has confirmed that non-personalized content feeds are incoming on Facebook and Instagram in the European Union ahead of the August 25 deadline for compliance with the bloc’s rebooted digital rulebook, the Digital Services Act (DSA).
- The DSA requires larger platforms and search engines to provide users in the region with the ability to switch off AI-driven “personalization” — a feature which selects and displays content based on tracking and profiling individual users.
- Meta’s president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, avoided discussion of the downsides of its AI recommender systems — couching the non-personalized feed as another option for users to “view and discover” content.
- Meta is also clearly hoping to persuade EU users not to flick the AI off switch by doubling down on transparency measures and providing what it claims is an “unprecedented level of insight into how our AI systems rank content”.