Meta AI Image Generation Feature Is an Egregious Invasion of User Privacy

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox. 5 #000000 #FFFFFF To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page. Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox. Meta’s latest AI image generation feature raises serious privacy concerns by automatically allowing public Instagram profiles to be used in AI-generated images unless users actively opt out. The new “Muse Image” model enables users to generate AI images using another person’s likeness simply by tagging their public Instagram account in a prompt. Consumers are not affirmatively asked for permission, are not notified when their images are used, and AI-generated images already created from their content will remain even if they later disable the feature. While Meta says users can opt out through account settings, those controls require users to navigate multiple layers of settings rather than obtaining clear, affirmative consent before their likeness is used. J.B. Branch, director of federal AI governance and technology policy at Public Citizen, issued the following statement: “Meta has once again chosen the creepiest possible path. People should not wake up to discover their face has become raw material for someone else’s AI experiment. This is another invasion of consumers’ privacy. Instead of asking for meaningful consent, Meta quietly defaults users into the system and buries the opt-out in account settings. It’s a playbook we’ve come to expect from a company with a long history of putting its business interests ahead of the public. “Unfortunately, we’ve reached a point where many technology companies treat every piece of our personal information—our photos, our voices, our biometric identifiers, even our relationships—as raw material to fuel their AI ambitions. Privacy has already been eroded in countless ways, but allowing companies to appropriate people’s likenesses without meaningful, affirmative consent crosses what should be a brightline. If our faces can be repurposed for AI simply because we posted a public photo, then very little remains off limits. Congress should establish clear privacy protections that require affirmative consent before companies can use a person’s image or likeness for AI products.” Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that champions the public interest in the halls of power. We defend democracy, resist corporate power and work to ensure that government works for the people - not for big corporations. Founded in 1971, we now have 500,000 members and supporters throughout the country. (202) 588-1000Oil price jumps should "start being passed along tomorrow and in the days ahead" in the form of higher gasoline prices, said one industry analyst. President Donald Trump's illegal war with Iran is sending oil prices surging—again. While attending the 36th NATO Summit of Heads of State and Government in Türikye on Wednesday, Trump said that the ceasefire agreement he struck last month with Iran is "over," while adding, "I don’t want to deal with them," in reference to the Iranians. Shortly after the president's remarks, Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices each jumped by more than 4% during Wednesday trading, marking the end of a steady decline in prices that occurred in the weeks since the ceasefire deal was first announced. Later in the day, Trump went on a lengthy rant about Democrats criticizing his failed campaign promise to bring down the price of groceries starting on his very first day in office, and he falsely claimed that the price of oil "is coming down very big." At this point, a reporter interjected and said that oil prices on Wednesday were surging upward. "If we hit Iran, oil goes up a little bit," Trump replied. "That's all right." Trump on Inflation: And now inflation is way down. Everything is great. The prices are coming down. They made up a phony word: affordability. Oil is coming down very big. Reporter: Brent crude is up today. Trump: Every time we hit Iran, oil goes up a little bit. That's all… pic.twitter.com/ZvG0a5RYZh — Acyn (@Acyn) July 8, 2026 Although the price of gasoline has been following the price of oil downward, any increase in petroleum prices will almost certainly send it back upward. In a social media post, petroleum industry analyst Patrick De Haan said the renewed fighting between the US and Iran, combined with Russia banning exports of diesel fuel, would likely cause more pain at the gas pump in the near future. "With news of Russia suspending diesel exports, markets have accelerated their climb," De Haan explained. "In addition, the current national average for diesel of $4.75 per gallon could head back to $5 per gallon in the next week or two, while the national average gas price heads to $4 per gallon." De Haan added that spot gasoline prices on Wednesday were up by between $0.14 and $0.20, projecting that "today's jumps could start being passed along tomorrow and in the days ahead." "Is this the future you want to see? Where AI executives pretend like they have the answers, that they are doing good, and you're giving them a stage?" A protester was violently removed from the United Nations AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva on Wednesday after Palestine defenders disrupted a presentation by a senior Amazon executive to denounce Big Tech's complicity in Israel's genocidal war on Gaza. Pro-Palestine activists linked to the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement are protesting the UN International Telecommunications Union (ITU) conference over its partnerships with tech titans, especially Amazon and Google. In 2021, the pair signed a $1.2 billion contract for Project Nimbus, which provides cloud services to the Israeli government and military. Under the deal, Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud provide the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli government agencies with cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence tools, and data storage. The contract prohibits Google or Amazon from refusing service to Israeli government, military, or intelligence agencies. Project Nimbus sparked the #NoTechForApartheid campaign, in which disaffected tech workers and dozens of advocacy groups rose up against Big Tech’s complicity in Israeli human rights crimes in Palestine, including the Gaza genocide; apartheid; and illegal occupation, settler colonization, and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank. On Wednesday, activists interrupted a summit speech by Amazon vice president and chief technology officer (CTO) Werner Vogels, with protesters taking the stage—two of them holding a large sign reading "No Tech for Apartheid"—as others in the audience chanted "Drop Project Nimbus!" "You are making Project Nimbus, a project of billions of dollars that Amazon is investing so that Israel has free access to your servers," the man who upstaged Vogels said as the Amazon CTO stood by with his hands on his hips. "You are investing billions in that. Your technology, Project Nimbus, develops Lavender, develops the software Where's Daddy, that actively tracks, using AI, people in Palestine, and when they come back, they kill them together with their families." "And you know this... and you're making millions out of this," the protester continued. "You're sitting here as if you're trying to do good, as if you're trying to be for the good of AI. What do you have to say for yourself? How do you sleep at night?" "Maybe that's why you're looking so panicked. Maybe that's why you cannot even stand on this stage anymore and look at these people, because you know exactly what your technology is being used for," the activist said after Vogels stepped off the stage. "They know exactly where their profits are coming from, and they continue anyway," the protester added, drawing loud cheers. As the activists holding the sign were removed from the stage, the man speaking gestured to Vogels and others and said: "You should be stopping them! You should be stopping those criminals right here! Why are you facilitating genocide? Why are you continuing to be complicit in the deaths of innocent people three years on?" Security personnel then removed the man from the stage as he said: "No violence. No violence." "Why are you putting me in a chokehold?" he asked as he was violently ejected. "Is this the future you want to see?... Where AI executives pretend like they have the answers, like they are doing good, and you're giving them a stage? Shame on you, Amazon! Drop Project Nimbus!" Activists with the BDS movement and other groups also protested at last year's AI for Good summit, which came on the heels of a report by UN independent Palestine expert Francesca Albanese detailing corporate complicity and direct participation in Israeli crimes against Palestinians and specifically naming dozens of companies, including Amazon and Google parent company Alphabet. More than 250,000 Palestinians have been killed or wounded, including thousands of people who are missing and presumed dead and buried beneath the rubble of the flattened Gaza Strip, since Israel launched its US-backed war on October 7, 2023, when Hamas led the deadliest attack on Israel in the country's 78-year history. Around 2 million Palestinians have been forcibly displaced, while Israel's "complete siege" of Gaza fueled famine and disease. Israel is facing a genocide case filed by South Africa at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The International Criminal Court, also located in the Dutch city, has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza. The Geneva summit follows the creation earlier this month of the ITU's AI for Good Global Commission, which is co-chaired by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and Rwandan President Paul Kagame, whose repressive 32-year rule has been criticized for persistent human rights abuses. Both Amazon and Google are represented on the commission. The summit also comes amid growing worldwide opposition to the unchecked development of AI technology, which experts warn will lead to job losses on an unprecedented scale, widening economic inequality, environmental and climate harms, social isolation, increased government surveillance, "killer robots," and, in the long term, possibly even human extinction. "We firmly believe that the supporters and volunteers who built this movement deserve to have a real role in any nomination process," said Graham Platner's campaign manager. Graham Platner's campaign manager on Wednesday accused the Maine Democratic Party of coordinating with national Democrats "behind closed doors" and cutting the embattled US Senate nominee's supporters out of the process to determine his potential replacement in the wake of a sexual assault allegation—and amid expectations that he will soon drop out of the race. In a text message sent to Platner supporters, campaign chief Ben Chin wrote that the Maine Democratic Party "allowed the DC-based Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to send staffers to plan a potential nominating process behind closed doors. Both the state and national parties cut our team, our volunteers, and our vast networks of supporters out of the conversation completely." "We firmly believe that the supporters and volunteers who built this movement deserve to have a real role in any nomination process," Chin's message continued. "If the Maine Democratic Party hopes to harness our movement, and avoid disillusioning the hundreds of thousands of supporters who came into the fray because of our movement’s policies, it must consult the feedback and proposals of the people who built and sustained this." The text included a link to a two-question survey asking Platner volunteers, "What message do you have for the Democratic Party?" and, "What message do you have for Graham?" The defiant message came as Platner's campaign was reportedly planning the nominee's exit from the US Senate race to pave the way for a different Democratic candidate to take on five-term Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) in November. Platner has denied the sexual assault allegation that prompted mass calls for him to exit the race, including from his most prominent supporters such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Chin's text message was circulated a day after Devon Murphy-Anderson, the Maine Democratic Party's executive director, said in a video posted to social media that the party has been "working around the clock" to develop a plan to replace Platner that is "open, inclusive, transparent, and fair." The party has not yet publicly specified what that plan could entail, saying Platner must formally withdraw from the race first. Murphy-Anderson accused Platner's team of "repeatedly reach[ing] out" to the Maine Democratic Party "in an attempt to put their thumb on the scale of what this process looks like." "We have repeatedly reiterated to Graham Platner's team that they have no role in determining our next Democratic nominee for the US Senate," Murphy-Anderson added. In response to Murphy-Anderson's statement, the Platner campaign denied that it has attempted to exert influence over the replacement process, saying it simply "reached out to the party to try and understand what this process would look like." "Over 150,000 Mainers voted for this movement, and over 15,000 Mainers volunteered their time and energy to it," an unnamed Platner campaign official told NBC News late Tuesday. "While Graham wouldn't want to be a part of the process, he would want to make sure the voters and volunteers make this decision—not the political establishment." On Wednesday, the Maine Democratic Party issued a new statement decrying what it called the Platner team's "false accusations against us" while also expressing gratitude for "his supporters and all of their efforts to defeat Susan Collins." "They are a vital part of our party and deserve to participate in an open process to select Platner’s replacement," said Maine Democrats. CNN reported that Platner is "expected to announce his decision" on his candidacy "through a recorded video, which could come later Wednesday." Platner must drop out of the race by July 13 if he's to be replaced on the November ballot. If he exits the race, an alternative must be selected by July 27. Politico reported that Platner "quietly fielded a poll Tuesday gauging the strength of people who could replace him on the ballot." "The flash poll, obtained by Politico, was conducted by Public Policy Polling and commissioned by Platner’s campaign," the outlet reported. "It tested head-to-head match-ups between Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Platner, along with five possible Democratic replacements for Platner, including former Maine state Senate President Troy Jackson and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows." "Of the Democrats tested, Jackson performed the best, leading Collins 49% to 44%, with 7% of voters undecided," Politico reported. The outlet also noted that the poll, conducted the day after the sexual assault allegation against Platner was first reported by Politico, showed Platner trailing Collins 47% to 42%. Jackson has filed paperwork to explore a Senate bid in preparation for Platner's expected exit, and Bellows—who lost badly to Collins in 2014—has said she would "seriously consider entering this race." Nirav Shah, former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, is also weighing a Senate bid.