Meta on Facebook

Meta has launched a new initiative called FIRE to combat scams on its platforms in Australia, where scams are costing citizens approximately AUS$93.5 million annually. The initiative will work with the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange to share intelligence and prevent financial losses due to scams, particularly those involving deep-faked celebrities promoting fraudulent investment schemes. Concurrently, at the Meta Connect 2024 event, the company introduced advanced AI features in its AR glasses, raising concerns about user data privacy, as images captured may be used to train Meta's AI systems. Users have expressed outrage over Meta's plans to utilize public posts for training its generative AI model, with some mistakenly believing they can opt-out by posting a viral message on social media. Experts warn that opting out is more complex than simply reposting and requires users to navigate privacy settings and manage data collection actively. Despite offering privacy controls, Meta's approach to data usage for AI training remains opaque, causing significant user discontent.