OpenAI’s GDPR problems are far from over. The Polish Data Protection Authority is opening an investigation into ChatGPT.
UODO received a complaint against ChatGPT last month and decided not to let the grass grow under it. In a public notice that we translated with Deepl, the Polish Data Protection Authority announces that it is opening an investigation. There is talk of separating “multiple lines,” and so OpenAI is being put to the test. Chairman Jan Nowak further explains that his office is taking the matter very seriously.
This now sounds familiar to OpenAI. Since it was reprimanded by the Italian regulator in March, other European member states have also started paying more attention to ChatGPT. An investigation is also underway in Spain. The Belgian GBA has not yet launched its own investigation, but is already calling for a European approach to ChatGPT.
GDPR
What exactly is the problem with ChatGPT? The public prosecutor sees two serious violations of the GDPR. To train the GPT model behind ChatGPT, OpenAI needs a lot of data. For this purpose, the company has its AI models “scrape” the Internet. This means that publicly available data about people can also be inserted into the model without your consent.
Based on this, ChatGPT sometimes announces half-truths or even complete nonsense when you ask questions about a person. As a data subject, you have no opportunity to contact OpenAI and have your data corrected or deleted. The GDPR law states that as a user you must be able to determine what can and cannot happen to your data.
The pressure increases
The pressure on OpenAI from Europe is increasing. ChatGPT has grown faster than the company could ever hope, and now it’s starting to see the downside. The European Commission is now trying to pass the AI law as quickly as possible in order to impose uniform European rules on providers of AI products in addition to the laws already in force. OpenAI announced last week that it would open an office in Dublin in order to establish itself physically on European territory.