There have been concerns raised by a group of software users from Adobe a few days ago, as they found out that Adobe has notified an update to their Terms of Use (ToS) which only option available is to accept it because if they do not accept it, they will not be able to continue using the software.
In this new ToS, Adobe specifies that one of the changes is “clarifying that we may access your content through automated and manual means for content moderation.” With this message, many users believe that Adobe is trying to access content to train AI models and thus demand clarification or urge to stop using the product.
Following that, Adobe posted a blog addressing the aforementioned issues, confirming that the company continues to conduct various policies transparently and fully protect the rights of content creators. Adobe then compared the old and new ToS, mentioning that there were some modifications in terms of accessing content in three cases:
Using applications and services that require access to content for them to function as desired, such as editing images, creating templates, or generating previews.
Using features that need to be connected to the cloud, like Photoshop Neural Filters, Liquid Mode, or Remove Background.
The third case that is contentious is the content stored on Adobe servers where the company may use image processing technology to detect and refer for manual review for images that are illegal, like child sexual abuse material (CSAM), disturbing content, or spam.
Adobe confirms that content moderation mentioned is used to improve the software to comply with the law. Adobe also states the agreement regarding using content for training AI models by stating that they do not use customer content to train Firefly Generative AI, as this AI model is trained with correctly acquired data such as in Adobe Stock or expired public domain content. Adobe does not claim ownership of customer works, and the content stored on customer servers is only for customers to use their applications and services.
Source: Adobe
Scott Belsky, an Adobe executive, also acknowledged on X that the message in the new ToS may cause confusion in an era where content creators are increasingly wary of technology companies (Adobe had this issue once before a year ago). “solely for the purpose of operating…”for clarity: any modern software company that has features like reproducing as thumbnails, enabling users to share for review and approval via web link, auto generating variations, indexing for search etc – requires a license (or for… — scott belsky (@scottbelsky) June 6, 2024.
TLDR: Adobe introduced updates to their Terms of Use that may allow them to access user content for moderation purposes, leading to concerns about their intentions with the data. Additionally, Adobe clarified that they do not use customer content to train AI models and emphasized their commitment to transparency and protecting content creators’ rights.
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