ChatGPT is investigated by Spain and France – 04/13/2023 – Tech

Spain and France announced this Thursday (13) an investigation of the American chatbot ChatGPT, on the same day that the European Union started a working group on this technology.

The AEPD (Spanish Data Protection Agency) said in a statement that it had “officially started” an “investigation of the American company OpenAI, owner of the ChatGPT service, for a possible breach of regulations” on data protection.

On March 31, Italian authorities blocked ChatGPT —an artificial intelligence robot that appeared in November and manages to maintain complex conversations with its interlocutor— precisely alleging disrespect for legislation on personal data.

The French data protection authority on Thursday announced its own investigation. Meanwhile, the EDPB (European Data Protection Board), in charge of coordinating similar offices in EU countries, said it had created a working group dedicated to the matter.

With this, the EDPB seeks the exchange of information between European authorities regarding the possible actions to be taken in relation to the ChatGPT.

“With the start of the investigation in Spain and the participation in the European working group, the AEPD acts in parallel […] as a national supervisory and control authority, as well as in coordination with its European counterparts by the Committee”, explained the Spanish institution.

The EDPS stated that he was in favor of “innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence”, but stated that technological development must always be “compatible with people’s rights and freedoms”.

After Italy blocked ChatGPT, OpenAI told AFP it was “committed to protecting people’s privacy” and considered its tool compliant with the law.