By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 25th, 2024
Regulators in Germany have been demanding answers over OpenAI’s ability ad intentions to comply with strict data privacy rules as applicable in the European Union.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot has created a storm in the tech world by gaining millions of users worldwide in no time, however, authorities in Germany have recently launched an inquiry into OpenAI’s privacy practices and whether it follows General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance.
On Monday, April 24, Agence France-Presse reported that regulators in Germany have been demanding answers over OpenAI’s ability ad intentions to comply with strict data privacy rules as applicable in the European Union.
The recent stand from the regulator in Germany comes just under a month after Italy imposed a ban on ChatGPT for breaching data privacy. Commenting on the development, Marit Hansen, commissioner for the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein told AFP:
“We want to know if a data protection impact assessment has been carried out and if the data protection risks are under control. We are asking OpenAI for information on issues that stem from the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).”
The commissioner further added that German authorities want to verify whether OpenAI under the EU law has been transparent in communicating with people that ChatGPT is using their data and that they “have rights, for example, to access, correct or even delete their data”.
She further added that it is also necessary to “clarify how these rights can be exercised”. “As soon as personal data of European citizens is processed, European data protection law must be respected,” added she.
Growing Scrutiny Over OpenAI’s ChatGPT in Germany
Watchdogs in Germany have recently increased scrutiny over the rapidly evolving state of the tech space, and OpenAI has been at the center of this.
Last month in mid-March, OpenAI released its GPT-4 model in a very short time. it has been facing increasing scrutiny from regulators, especially in Europe. As said, Italy was among the first nations to issue a ban on ChatGPT.
As per succeeding reports, OpenAI has been working with local regulators in Italy and sorting out whether they can comply with GDPR rules and Italian privacy laws.
Now, with German regulators, it is unclear as to how OpenAI plans to respond to their inquiries. However, German regulators have been seeking a response by June 11. European regulators have been particularly concerned about how OpenAI trains the data used to build the GPT artificial intelligence models.
Currently, ChatGPT users cannot opt out of having their data included nor can they correct the models upon making a mistake. However, GDPR rules require that individuals should have the ability to modify their data to reflect accuracy. Besides, they should also be able to remove data from systems altogether.