AI: Meta’s Use of Public Posts - A Monopsony Case Study ❓

I relearned a word today — monopsony. Monopsony is the market power of buyers, unlike monopoly, which is the market power of sellers. In leading countries, abuse of market power is illegal. During my run today, I realized Meta might be a perfect example.

Monopsony occurs when a few big buyers (e.g., AI companies) control the market, pay less for inputs, & stifle creativity. US antitrust authorities are starting to use this term in the AI context & could enforce “fair competition.” Major countries worldwide have rules against monopsonies to protect market competition & ensure fairness.

Here’s the situation with Meta & its AI:

CURRENT SITUATION:

➡ Companies, artists, & influencers post on Meta properties for free to gain visibility.

➡ Meta uses these posts to sell ads without compensating the creators

KEY ISSUES:

➡ Users never explicitly authorized Meta to use their content for training its AI

➡ Meta’s AI, trained on this content, could devalue the original creators’ work

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:

➡ Meta did not offer to pay users for this usage