European privacy watchdog creates ChatGPT working group

BRUSSELS, April 13 (Reuters) – The body uniting Europe’s national privacy watchdogs said on Thursday it had set up a working group on ChatGPT, a potentially important first step towards a common policy to set privacy rules for artificial intelligence.

The move by the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) follows a unilateral move by Italy last month to clamp down on ChatGPT ̵[ads1]1; a stance Germany’s data protection commissioner said could be followed in Europe’s biggest economy. Spain’s AEPD watchdog said Thursday that it will also launch a preliminary investigation into potential data breaches by ChatGPT.

ChatGPT, an AI program that captured the public’s attention for its ability to quickly type answers to a wide range of questions, has grown to be the fastest growing consumer application in history with more than 100 million monthly active users, while raising questions about threats it may entail to safety, privacy and workplaces.

Experts, US authorities and several other European authorities have also expressed concern about the rapid growth in use of ChatGPT and similar AI products.

“The EDPB members discussed the recent enforcement action taken by the Italian data protection authority against OpenAI on the Chat GPT service,” the statement said.

“The EDPB decided to launch a dedicated working group to promote cooperation and to exchange information on possible enforcement actions taken by data protection authorities.”

A source at a national watchdog, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said member states hoped to coordinate their policy positions but this would take time.

The source said member states were not seeking to penalize or create rules that would affect Microsoft Corp ( MSFT.O )-backed ChatGPT owner OpenAI, but rather to create general guidelines that “are transparent.”

They said participants at Thursday’s meeting included political experts who presented opinions and exchanged ideas, rather than being policymakers.

The EDPB is an independent body that oversees data protection rules in the EU and is made up of national data protection watchdogs.

The organization could not immediately be reached for comment.

The discussion on ChatGPT was added to the body’s agenda following a request from Spain to discuss the matter earlier this week.

Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Alison Williams

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