A Vienna-based privacy advocacy group, the European Centre for Digital Rights, known as Noyb (“None of Your Business”), has filed complaints against Meta in 11 European countries. The complaints, lodged on Thursday, challenge Meta’s impending privacy policy changes, which Noyb argues would enable the “unlawful” use of personal data for artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

The action follows Meta’s recent announcement, informing its European users of a privacy policy update set to take effect on June 26. Upon examining the changes, Noyb discovered that Meta intends to use all public and non-public user data collected since 2007 for unspecified AI technologies. This data could be used for any undefined purpose and shared with unspecified “third parties” without obtaining the legally required opt-in consent from users, according to Noyb.

“This is clearly the opposite of GDPR compliance,” stated Max Schrems, founder of Noyb, referencing the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), designed to give individuals greater control over how their personal information is used by companies. “Meta doesn’t specify what it will use the data for, so it could range from simple chatbots to aggressive personalized advertising, or even more extreme applications,” Schrems added.

Noyb’s complaints call on data protection authorities in the 11 affected countries to halt Meta’s new privacy policy before its implementation and to conduct a thorough investigation. The group also plans to file additional complaints in other EU member states in the coming days.

Since its inception in 2018, coinciding with the introduction of the GDPR, Noyb has initiated multiple legal actions against major technology companies, often resulting in regulatory scrutiny and action.