Germany Launches Inquiry on Data Protection over ChatGPT
German regional data protection authorities have launched an inquiry on OpenAI's ChatGPT. The questionnaire compiled by the authorities seeks to verify whether OpenAI under EU law sufficiently informs people whose data is used by ChatGPT that they have rights, for example to access, correct, or delete their data. The data protection authorities want to know if a data protection impact assessment has been carried out and if the data protection risks are under control.
Marit Hansen, the commissioner for the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, said that as soon as personal data of European citizens is processed, European data protection law must be respected. Hansen added that it is necessary to clarify how data protection rights can be exercised. Regulators are particularly concerned about the processing of data relating to minors.
OpenAI's ChatGPT can generate essays, poems, and conversations from the briefest of prompts. The chatbot has passed some tough exams, but it has been dogged with concerns that its talents could lead to widespread cheating in schools, replace human workers, and supercharge disinformation on the web.
Italy temporarily banned the programme last month over allegations that its data-gathering broke privacy laws. However, Italy has since asked OpenAI to adjust its chatbot so that it could be back online in the country at the end of April. France's regulator said earlier this month that it had opened a formal procedure after receiving five complaints. Similarly, Spain's AEPD data protection agency also said that it had opened an inquiry into the software and its US owner.
The European Union's central data regulator has formed a task force to help countries harmonize their policies and address privacy concerns. If ChatGPT is trained on vast datasets, concerns have been raised about where OpenAI gets its data and how that information is handled.
