The warning letter was issued the same day Meta revealed their plans to incorporate chatbots powered by AI into their sponsored apps, i.e. WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram.
In the letter, Markey wrote to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg that, “These chatbots could create new privacy harms and exacerbate those already prevalent on your platforms, including invasive data collection, algorithmic discrimination, and manipulative advertisements[…]I strongly urge you to pause the release of any AI chatbots until Meta understands the effect that such products will have on young users.”
According to Markey, the algorithms have already “caused serious harms,” to customers, like “collecting and storing detailed personal information[…]facilitating housing discrimination against communities of color.”
He added that while chatbots can benefit people, they also possess certain risks. He further highlighted the risk of chatbots, noting the possibility that they could identify the difference between ads and content.
“Young users may not realize that a chatbot’s response is actually advertising for a product or service[…]Generative AI also has the potential to adapt and target advertising to an 'audience of one,' making ads even more difficult for young users to identify,” states Markey.
Markey also noted that chatbots might also make social media platforms more “addictive” to the users (than they already are).
“By creating the appearance of chatting with a real person, chatbots may significantly expand users’ -- especially younger users’ – time on the platform, allowing the platform to collect more of their personal information and profit from advertising,” he wrote. “With chatbots threatening to supercharge these problematic practices, Big Tech companies, such as Meta, should abandon this 'move fast and break things' ethos and proceed with the utmost caution.”
The lawmaker is now asking Meta to respond to a series of questions in regards to their new chatbots, including the ones that might have an impact on users’ privacy and advertising.
Moreover, the questions include a detailed insight into the roles of chatbots when it comes to data collection and whether Meta will commit not to use any information gleaned from them to target advertisements for their young users. Markey inquired about the possibility of adverts being integrated into the chatbots and, if so, how Meta intends to prevent those ads from confusing children.
In their response, a Meta spokesperson has confirmed that the company has indeed received the said letter.
Meta further notes in a blog post that it is working in collaboration with the government and other entities “to establish responsible guardrails,” and is training the chatbots with consideration to safety. For instance, Meta writes, the tools “will suggest local suicide and eating disorder organizations in response to certain queries, while making it clear that it cannot provide medical advice.”