*

Meta rejects the advocacy group's arguments

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Has cited legitimate interest under EU privacy rules

*

Campaigners says damage claims could be many billions of

euros

(Adds Meta comment in paragraphs 9-11)

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS, May 14 (Reuters) - Austrian advocacy group

NOYB will seek an injunction against Meta Platforms ( META ), it

said on Wednesday, that could lead to substantial claims if the

tech giant goes ahead with plans to use Europeans' personal data

to train its AI models.

NOYB, or none of your business, led by privacy activist Max

Schrems, said it had sent a cease and desist letter on Wednesday

to Meta, which plans to start using personal data from European

users of Instagram and Facebook from May 27.

Meta has cited legitimate interest under EU privacy rules

for using users' data to train and develop its generative AI

models and other AI tools that can be shared with third parties.

The U.S. tech giant said last month users would receive a

link to a form that allows them to object to their data being

used for training purposes and that private messages and public

data from accounts of users under the age of 18 will not be

used.

Schrems criticised Meta's rationale.

"The European Court of Justice has already held that Meta

cannot claim a 'legitimate interest' in targeting users with

advertising. How should it have a 'legitimate interest' to suck

up all data for AI training?" he said in a statement.

"We are currently evaluating our options to file

injunctions, but there is also the option for a subsequent class

action for non-material damages. If you think about the more

than 400 million European Meta users who could all demand

damages of just 500 euros or so, you can do the math," Schrems

said.

NOYB said an injunction could be filed under the EU

Collective Redress, which enables consumers to pursue collective

lawsuits against companies in the bloc. It set a May 21 deadline

for Meta to respond.

Meta rejected NOYB's arguments, saying its approach complies

with guidance from the European Data Protection Board and

follows discussions with the Irish privacy enforcer.

"NOYB's arguments are wrong on the facts and the law," a Meta

spokesperson said.

"We've provided EU users with a clear way to object to their

data being used for training AI at Meta, notifying them via

email and in-app notifications that they can object at any

time."

NOYB, which last year urged EU privacy enforcers to act,

said Meta could give users an option to opt-in rather than

opt-out and also provide clear conditions for AI training, such

as using anonymised user data, in line with EU privacy rules.