Snapchat’s AI chatbot could pose a risk to children’s privacy, says UK regulator – 10/09/2023 – Market

Snapchat may not have adequately assessed the privacy risks of its artificial intelligence chatbot for children, the UK data watchdog said on Friday, adding that it will consider the company’s response before taking any action. any final application decision.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said that if the US company fails to adequately address the regulator’s concerns, “My AI”, launched in April, could be blocked in the UK.

“The interim findings of our investigation suggest a concerning failure by Snap to adequately identify and assess the privacy risks to children and other users before launching ‘My AI,'” said Information Commissioner John Edwards.

The findings do not necessarily mean that the instant messaging app, largely used by younger people, has breached British data protection laws or that the ICO will end up issuing an enforcement notice, the regulator said.

Snap said it is reviewing the ICO notification and is committed to user privacy.

“‘My AI’ went through a robust legal and privacy review process before being made publicly available,” said a Snap spokesperson. “We will continue to work constructively with the ICO to ensure they are comfortable with our risk assessment procedures.”

The ICO is investigating how “My AI” processes the personal data of Snapchat’s approximately 21 million UK users, including children aged 13 to 17.

“My AI” is powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the most famous example of generative AI, which regulators around the world are looking to find ways to regulate in light of privacy and security concerns.