Meta has urged the Australian government not to make privacy law changes that would prevent the company using personal information taken from Facebook and Instagram posts to train its AI, arguing the AI needs to learn “how individuals discuss Australian concepts”.

In a submission to the Productivity Commission’s review on harnessing data and digital technology, published this week, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp argued for a “global policy alignment” in the Albanese government’s pursuit of privacy reform in the AI age.

Meta said generative AI models “require large and diverse datasets” and cannot rely on synthetic data – data generated by AI alone. The company said available databases, such as Australian legislation, were limited in what they could offer AI compared to datasets containing personal information.

“Human beings’ discussions of culture, art, and emerging trends are not borne out in such legislative texts, and the discourse that takes place on Meta products both represents vital learning on both how individuals discuss Australian concepts, realities, and figures, as well as, in particular, how users of our products engage,” Meta said.