WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Meta Platforms Inc. (META) is facing criticism over a new AI tool, Muse Image, which can generate pictures using other people's profile photos without notifying them.
Muse Image is one of many publicly available text-to-image tools, meaning it can create images from a few lines of written prompts. The feature is available through the Meta AI app and web browser, as well as on WhatsApp and in Instagram Stories for users in the US.
Meta says people can opt out of having their image used, even if their account is public. But Donald Campbell, advocacy director at tech justice non-profit Foxglove, called the feature an 'obvious recipe for disaster.'
'We've already seen a catalogue of harms from non-consensual AI-altered images on social platforms just in the past year,' he told the BBC. 'It is hard to see why Mark Zuckerberg thinks facilitating yet more of this creepy image manipulation is a good idea.'
The tool is likely to face increased scrutiny as regulators and campaigners raise concerns about AI-generated imagery. Ofcom is currently investigating X over Grok's role in creating and sharing non-consensual AI-altered images of real people.
Privacy International also criticised Muse Image, describing it as 'the latest sign AI companies see people's images and data as raw material to be exploited.' Some users have also raised alarms online. 'Pulling real users into generated photos without explicit consent is a privacy landmine waiting to detonate,' one person wrote on X.
Meta says there is a dedicated setting separate from general account privacy controls that lets users opt out even with a public account. To change it, users can go to Instagram Settings, select Sharing and Reuse, and switch off Allow people to reuse your content on Instagram and with AI features at Meta for posts and reels.
The option only appears for public accounts; private accounts are not shareable by default. Meta is entering an already crowded market of text-to-image tools, but the integration with Instagram is new-and potentially powerful.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
