I've spoken with a lawyer about data collection in the past and I think there might be a case if you were to:
- collect thousands of people's data
- anonymize it
- then shadow correlate the data in a web
- then trace a trail through said web for each "individual"
- then train several individuals as models
- then abstract that with a model on top of those models
Now you have a legal case that it's merely an academic research into independent behaviors affecting a larger model. Even though you may have collected private data, the anonymization of it might fall under ethical data collection purposes (Meta uses this loophole for their shadow profiling).
Unfortunately, I don't think it is as cut and dry as you explained. As far as I know, these laws are already being side-stepped.
For the record, I don't like it. I think this is a bad thing. Unfortunately, it's still arguably "legal".
I realize that data can be de-anonymized, but if the same party anonymized and de-anonymized the data... well, IANAL, and you apparently talked to one, but that doesn't seem like something a court would like.
- collect thousands of people's data
- anonymize it
- then shadow correlate the data in a web
- then trace a trail through said web for each "individual"
- then train several individuals as models
- then abstract that with a model on top of those models
Now you have a legal case that it's merely an academic research into independent behaviors affecting a larger model. Even though you may have collected private data, the anonymization of it might fall under ethical data collection purposes (Meta uses this loophole for their shadow profiling).
Unfortunately, I don't think it is as cut and dry as you explained. As far as I know, these laws are already being side-stepped.
For the record, I don't like it. I think this is a bad thing. Unfortunately, it's still arguably "legal".