PensionBee, a UK firm focused on the consumer retirement market, has found significant public support for a shareholder resolution urging Meta to address growing concerns over “how it uses personal data to power its AI systems.”
The poll found that more than 50% of respondents back the shareholder proposed resolution, which calls for “greater transparency and a report into the potential risks associated with its current AI data usage, providing increased transparency to prioritise user privacy.”
The resolution, which was to have been voted on at the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), reportedly highlights “wider anxieties about how AI is implemented.”
In Meta’s case, these concerns centre on the ethical and legal implications of data acquisition “for training their AI, as well as recent changes to the company’s privacy policy, which allow user-generated content to be utilised for AI training without explicit individual consent.”
The survey has also revealed that “36% of respondents were unsure or did not know enough about the issue, with only 14% of respondents expressing opposition to the resolution.”
Clare Reilly, Chief Engagement Officer at PensionBee, commented:
“These findings demonstrate a clear public desire for major tech companies like Meta to be held more accountable for how they use personal data for AI development. Whilst AI has the potential to transform the way companies operate and offer huge value to customers, investors and the wider public are increasingly aware of the ethical and societal implications that unchecked AI development can cause, particularly if they use training data acquired without explicit user consent.”
They also mentioned:
“As one of the world’s largest social media and technology companies, Meta has a responsibility to both its customers and its shareholders to demonstrate how it’s gathering and using its AI training data. Our survey results are a clear call to shareholders to take this opportunity to act.”
