Meta is overhauling how it assesses privacy, safety and security risks across its products, deploying artificial intelligence to automate large parts of a compliance process that spans tens of thousands of reviews each year for a user base running into the billions.
The company said it is transforming its existing Privacy Review into a broader cross-company Risk Review, with AI integrated throughout to identify problems earlier in the product development cycle and apply protections more consistently before products reach users.
Michel Protti, who oversees privacy policy at Meta, outlined the changes in a company blog post, describing the AI-powered system as "an always-on risk detection tool" capable of flagging issues while code is being written rather than after the fact.
According to the announcement, the system automates repetitive intake work, prefills key documentation, surfaces relevant legal requirements and scans product proposals to identify risks before testing begins.
The programme is designed to deliver earlier warning signals, more consistent application of standards, and ongoing monitoring to keep protections in step with hundreds of evolving data protection laws across different jurisdictions.
Protti said the scale of Meta's review workload makes automation increasingly necessary, but stressed that human experts remain central to the process.
Under the new model, AI handles first-pass analysis while people set the rules, verify outputs and take responsibility for complex judgment calls that require contextual understanding rather than pattern matching.
The aim, Meta said, is to free up specialist staff to concentrate on novel and high-impact cases rather than routine intake work, which the company said has historically consumed significant expert time.
Meta said it expects its Data Protection Officers to discuss the shift at the IAPP Global Summit, the annual gathering of privacy professionals, signalling that the company views the model as a potential template for the broader industry.
The announcement comes as regulators across Europe, the United States and beyond are intensifying scrutiny of how large technology platforms manage user data and build safety considerations into their products, with enforcement actions and fines rising in frequency and scale.
Meta has faced repeated regulatory challenges over its data practices in recent years, including substantial fines from the Irish Data Protection Commission, which serves as the company's lead regulator within the European Union.
The recap
- Meta embeds AI into its cross-company Risk Review program.
- The company conducts tens of thousands of reviews each year.
- Data Protection Officers will discuss the shift at IAPP Global Summit.
