OpenAI Faces Privacy Complaint Over ChatGPT's Data Handling

OpenAI, the startup backed by Microsoft faces privacy complaints filed by the advocacy group, None of Your Business A.K.A. NOYB on Monday. 

The complaint alleges that OpenAI has failed to address inaccuracies produced by ChatGPT, potentially violating EU privacy regulations.

ChatGPT, credited with catalyzing the GenAI phenomenon since late 2022, possesses the capability to emulate human conversation and undertake various tasks, including summarizing lengthy texts, composing poetry, and brainstorming ideas for themed events.

According to NOYB, the complainant, who also happens to be a public figure, interacted with ChatGPT to inquire about his birthday. Instead of clarifying that it lacked the necessary data, ChatGPT consistently provided erroneous information.

Despite requests from the complainant, OpenAI purportedly declined to rectify or delete the inaccurate data, citing technical constraints.

Furthermore, OpenAI allegedly failed to disclose details regarding the data processing, its origins, or its recipients.

NOYB has complained to the Austrian data protection authority, urging an investigation into OpenAI's data handling practices and the efficacy of measures implemented to ensure the accuracy of personal data managed by its extensive language models.

Maartje de Graaf, a data protection lawyer at NOYB, emphasized, "It's clear that companies are currently unable to make chatbots like ChatGPT comply with EU law when processing data about individuals."

She added, "If a system cannot produce accurate and transparent results, it cannot be used to generate data about individuals. The technology has to follow the legal requirements, not the other way around."

OpenAI has previously acknowledged the challenge of ensuring ChatGPT's responses are consistently accurate, conceding its propensity to provide "plausible-sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers."

However, addressing this issue remains a formidable task for the company.