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Brazil’s data regulator did not impose a permanent ban on Meta. On July 2, 2024, the Autoridade Nacional de Proteção de Dados (ANPD) ordered a preventive suspension of certain personal-data processing for generative-AI training in Brazil. It lifted that prohibition on August 30 after approving a compliance plan, allowing Meta to resume the activity subject to restrictions. The underlying inspection is a separate matter, and the official public listing does not establish its final outcome.

What ANPD ordered Meta to stop

Meta’s updated privacy policy took effect on June 26, 2024. ANPD said the change would allow Meta to use information publicly available on its platforms and content shared by users to train and improve generative-AI systems. On July 2, the authority ordered Meta to suspend the relevant policy provisions and the processing of personal data for that training in Brazil. The order covered personal data even when it belonged to people who were not Meta platform users. ANPD announced a daily fine of R$50,000 for noncompliance.

At the time, ANPD said it saw preliminary indications of an inadequate legal basis for processing, insufficient transparency, limits on people’s ability to exercise their rights, and risks to children and adolescents. It cited the risk of serious harm that could be difficult to repair as grounds for preventive action. These were preliminary concerns supporting an interim measure, not final findings that Meta had violated the law. ANPD’s July 2 announcement described the authority’s concerns.

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How the order changed

Date ANPD action What it meant
July 2, 2024 Issued a preventive suspension and set a daily R$50,000 fine for noncompliance. Meta was ordered to stop the specified personal-data processing for AI training in Brazil.
July 10, 2024 Maintained the measure after Meta sought reconsideration, gave Meta five additional days to demonstrate compliance, and deferred broader requests pending technical review and a compliance plan. The prohibition remained in place while ANPD assessed compliance and the proposed plan.
August 30, 2024 Lifted the preventive prohibition after finding Meta had met the requirements of an updated compliance plan. Restricted resumption was allowed; the underlying inspection was not thereby decided.

ANPD’s July 10 update explains the continued measure and additional compliance period. Its August 30 announcement describes the approved plan and the lifting of the prohibition.

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What restricted resumption allowed

According to ANPD’s August 30 announcement, the compliance plan included improved transparency and a simpler way for people to object. Meta also committed not to process data from accounts belonging to people under 18 for training until a final decision in the inspection process. The August action lifted the preventive prohibition under those safeguards; it was not a final ruling on the legality of Meta’s practices.

What Meta said about the data it used

In a Brazil-facing post first published on May 22 and updated August 30, Meta said it planned to use public information from accounts, including public posts and comments, and that people could object through a form. Meta also said it did not use private messages with friends and family to train its AI experiences. These are Meta’s descriptions of its practices, not independent confirmation of legal compliance. Meta’s Brazil-facing post sets out the company’s account.

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Is the case finished?

The August 2024 change resolved the immediate preventive prohibition, but it does not show that ANPD closed its inspection or reached a final merits decision. ANPD’s public inspection page lists Meta’s generative-AI personal-data processing under process 00261.004509/2024-36, without stating a final disposition in the listing. The case’s final outcome is therefore not established by that public record. ANPD’s inspection-process listing identifies the proceeding.

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How large was the issue in Brazil?

When announcing the preventive measure on July 2, 2024, ANPD said Facebook alone had about 102 million active users in Brazil. That is the authority’s figure for 2024, not a current user count. The same ANPD announcement provides the estimate.

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