In Europe, privacy watchdogs overseeing how tech companies handle Europeans’ personal data, such as their posts, images and social media interactions, are currently under scrutiny. These authorities are responsible for checking whether technology companies have the right to use users’ personal data to feed AI.
A key issue that regulators are still figuring out is the so-called legal basis for data use, the legitimate grounds (of which there are six under the GDPR) that technology and social media companies rely on when processing data for AI purposes. .
“Tech companies scraping the internet to feed their AI systems need a reality check. Consumers should always be in control of their personal data,” European consumer rights organization BEUC said in a statement. mentioned in.
Apple announced a new iPhone model equipped with AI in the summer, but it has not released it in Europe because it needs to check whether it would violate the EU’s new digital competition law, the Digital Markets Act. . |Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images
“The GDPR is there to steer innovation in the right direction. Good innovation cannot happen unless people’s fundamental rights are respected,” said Tobias Judin, a legal expert at Norway’s data protection authority.
For big tech companies, that means delays and difficulties. Meta, X and LinkedIn all recently delayed the rollout of new artificial intelligence applications in Europe following intervention by Ireland’s DPC. Google’s PaLM2 model faces an investigation by the same regulator that forced Google to pause the release of its Bard chatbot last year.
The moves signal a significant change in strategy for the Irish authorities, which under the leadership of former Commissioner Helen Dixon had faced widespread criticism for being too slow to hold big tech companies accountable for privacy breaches. Ta. The authority changed its security structure earlier this year, with two co-commissioners, Des Hogan and Dale Sunderland, replacing Mr Dixon. Mr Hogan and Mr Sunderland have sought to avoid criticism from their European peers, taking a tough stance against big tech companies that dovetails with the behavior other regulators want Ireland to take.
