SAG-AFTRA Recommends Members Opt-Out Of Meta’s AI Feature: “Take Action To Protect Your Likeness”
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The actors' union SAG-AFTRA has urged its members, and all Instagram users, to opt out of Meta's newly launched AI image tool, Muse Image, amid growing privacy concerns. In a statement issued on Thursday, the union provided instructions on how to adjust Instagram's settings to "protect your likeness", warning that "Meta now lets anyone use your Instagram photos in AI images without your consent." The move matters because it reflects mounting alarm in Hollywood over how AI platforms are using people's images and likenesses without explicit permission.
The tool reportedly allows a user to tag a public or unprotected Instagram feed, which then becomes source material for the AI to generate images or "remixes" that remain online permanently. The Creative Artists Agency (CAA) has also called for Meta to introduce guardrails, arguing that no one's likeness should be used without clear, documented consent — though the agency runs its own AI Vault programme archiving members' likenesses. Meta has downplayed the concerns, stating that Muse Image was built with "strong controls and safety guardrails", that private accounts and under-18 users are automatically excluded, and that adult public-account holders can opt out "with just a couple clicks".
- SAG-AFTRA urges members to opt out of Meta's Muse Image tool.
- Tool can use public Instagram photos in AI images without consent.
- Meta says private and under-18 accounts are automatically excluded.
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Instagram's owner Meta has just rolled out a new tool called Muse Image, which uses artificial intelligence to generate pictures based on photos posted on the platform. It works by letting a user tag any public Instagram account, pulling images from that feed to create AI-generated "remixes" of them, which then stay online indefinitely.
SAG-AFTRA is the main US trade union representing actors and other performers, and it has a long-standing interest in protecting members' likenesses from unauthorised use, an issue that became prominent during the union's 2023 strike over AI in the entertainment industry. The Creative Artists Agency, one of Hollywood's biggest talent agencies, has also weighed in, pushing Meta to add stronger consent safeguards.
The dispute matters because it touches on a wider, unresolved question raised by generative AI: whether people should have to explicitly agree before their image or likeness is used to create new content, and how much control platforms should give users over that process.
More coverage
- Far Out — SAG-AFTRA warns members against Metau2019s latest AI feature: u201cTake actionu201d
- Variety — Meta AI Can Now Use Your Instagram Photos Without Consent. SAG-AFTRA Urges App Users to Opt Out: u2018Take Action to Protect Your Likenessu2019