Meta's upcoming multimodal AI models won't be available in EU countries due to the bloc's strict regulations, the company confirmed on Thursday. The tech giant's next model is expected to work across text, video, audio and images to enable next-level chatbots, content generation, translation and much more. But not for people living in the European Union.
"We will release a multimodal Llama model over the coming months, but not in the EU due to the unpredictable nature of the European regulatory environment," a spokesperson for the company said in a statement to CNET, confirming an Axios report.
Every big tech company's take on AI is different. Meta's approach has been to build accessible, open-source models that can be used by all sorts of companies and research institutions, and also integrated into its own platforms, including Facebook and WhatsApp.
The news about the lack of availability in the EU may come as a blow to those who were keenly anticipating the next Llama release, and it may also have a knock-on impact on Meta's products within Europe.
But Meta isn't the only company forced to restrict European users' access to upcoming AI products. Last month, Apple said its upcoming release of Apple Intelligence won't be available in the EU when it's released in the US later this year. Both companies are wary of European regulations, which have already tripped them up this year, with potential penalties threatening their wallets and their ongoing activity within the region.
Big tech companies welcome government regulation in theory, as they say it shouldn't be their job to regulate themselves. But that doesn't mean they agree with all the contents of those regulations. Some of the regulations put in place by Europe to protect users and the wider business environment are incompatible with the latest products that tech companies are developing.
In the case of Meta, the issue is Europe's long-standing set of privacy rules, known as the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, which came into force in 2018. These rules are designed to protect the data of European internet users, giving them the power to say how their data is held and used. Companies that fail to comply, or violate people's privacy by misusing their data, face fines of up to 4% of their annual turnover.
Apple, meanwhile, is concerned about another set of rules, Europe's Digital Markets Act. This law is designed to prevent large tech companies, known as "gatekeepers" (of which Apple is one), from stymying the growth of competitors in ways that might negatively impact Europeans. Apple has been obliged to comply with the regulation since May, but in June, EU regulators said the company was breaking the law with its App Store rules. Apple, though, said the rules were in compliance.
No other companies have said at this stage that their future AI releases may not be available in the EU, but it's safe to say that where Apple and Meta lead, others may follow. Their willingness to withhold products will also be noted by regulators — both within Europe and elsewhere — as those lawmakers try to put appropriate safeguards around this new technology, which increasingly seems to be creeping into every corner of our lives.