Adobe is facing backlash over recent updates to its Terms of Service for the company's generative AI products.
The revised terms, affecting over 20 million global users of Adobe’s Creative Cloud Suite, include language that some users interpret as allowing Adobe to access, view or listen to their content, including sensitive content such as information protected by non-disclosure agreements.
Updates to the Terms of Service have also sparked concern among creative users, with some alleging that Adobe is surveilling their work and potentially using it to train AI models.
Adobe criticized for AI rules
Section 2.2 states that Adobe may use techniques such as machine learning to analyze user content to improve its services and software.
The company says that it will do this to “respond to Feedback or support requests; detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security, legal, or technical issues; and enforce the Terms.”
With the new changes enforce upon users, unhappy customers have taken to online platforms to share their thoughts, partiuclarly on having to share private and sensitive data with the California-based software company, which could be used for AI training purposes.
An Adobe spokesperson stated that there have been no policy changes, but rather the wording has been changed to provide more clarity. They reiterated that Adobe accesses user content to deliver cloud-based features and to take action against prohibited content, stressing that locally-stored content is not accessed.
Adobe has also published a blog post to clear up any misunderstandings surrounding its terms.
Despite these reassurances, the ambiguity in the Terms of Service and the rise of generative AI have led some users to consider cancelling their Adobe subscriptions.
As Adobe continues to navigate the legal, moral and technical challenges of integrating generative AI technologies, it must also address user concerns to maintain trust and transparency.
TechRadar Pro has asked Adobe to share more context about the changes. Any update will be posted here.
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