Adobe’s terms of use change indicates its use of tools to analyze user content and has generated controversy on social media; understand the case
A notice regarding the terms of service of Adobe took many users by surprise: the company said it could access all content created in enterprise software, such as Photoshop and Premiere, using “manual and automated methods,” which involves using machine learning tools to collect information from personal data files or those protected by confidentiality agreements.
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The terms were updated in February this year, but the case recently went viral due to a pop-up notification sent by Adobe Creative Cloud informing of the change. A publication by artist Sam Santala on X (ex Twitter) with the new warning it already has more than 9 million views online and is accompanied by several criticisms of the decision.
So I’m reading this, right? @Adobe @Photoshop
I can’t use Photoshop unless I agree that you have full access to everything I create with it, INCLUDING NDA work? pic.twitter.com/ZYbnFCMlkE
—Sam Santala (@SamSantala) June 5, 2024
Understand the case
Adobe’s notice warns that it has updated the company’s software terms and conditions, with an emphasis on the section “We make it clear that we may access your content through manual and automated methods, such as content analysis.” Furthermore, the note reinforces sections 2.2 and 4.1 of the text.
The first section cited talks about access to user-created content and states that the company may “access, view, or listen to your content through automated and manual methods, but only in limited ways and only as permitted by law.”
It also reinforces that automated systems could analyze content with machine learning “to improve our services and software and user experience.” The excerpt left many users confused about whether the company would train AI models with the material.
The other highlighted section defines what content is present on Adobe platforms and states that the company has the right (but not the obligation) to remove any material that violates the terms of service. The text also emphasizes that the company does not analyze all submitted material, but may use “available technologies, vendors or processes, including manual analysis, to check for certain types of illegal content.”
Adobe’s executive vice president responded
Adobe has not made any official comment on the case, but the person who seems to have put out the fire in the discussion was the company’s executive vice president and chief strategy officer, Scott Belsky.
In response to some posts on According to the executive the terms of service explain the details of the situation, but the way the pop-up notification was written leaves room for these doubts.
Furthermore, he stressed that the company does not train the Firefly GenAI model (used to generate images via artificial intelligence) based on users’ private content, but only with materials submitted to the Adobe Stock platform.
This is incorrect: we do not and have never trained Firefly GenAI on user content, only Adobe Stock (where we also have a compensation model for contributors)
but regarding broader feedback, this summary wording is unclear and I have provided the feedback to the legal department. the current TOS are…
— scott belsky (@scottbelsky) June 6, 2024
Scott Belsky also commented that the terms of service are similar to those of other service providers. Software that have cloud storage resources: the platform can access content to display in searches within Photoshop itself, for example.
How to prevent Adobe from analyzing your content
Adobe also offers an alternative to block the company from accessing your content and use machine learning analytics:
- Access account.adobe.com/privacy;
- Do Login with your Adobe account;
- Uncheck the “Content Analysis” option.
The measure affects all Adobe software linked to the user’s account, such as Photoshop or Illustrator.
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Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
