Google’s AI compliance is being probed by a top EU privacy regulator

On Thursday, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) initiated an inquiry to determine if Google has properly safeguarded European Union (EU) users’ personal data before utilising it to develop its core artificial intelligence (AI) model.

As the primary EU privacy regulator for many major U.S. tech companies due to their European headquarters being in Ireland, the DPC’s investigation is focused on Alphabet Inc.’s Pathways Language Model 2 (PaLM 2).

This statutory inquiry is part of the DPC’s broader efforts, in collaboration with other EU/EEA regulators, to oversee how personal data is processed during the development of AI models and systems, the DPC stated.

Recently, the X social media platform had agreed to refrain from using EU users’ personal data to train its AI systems unless users had the option to withdraw consent, following legal action by the Irish regulator.

A Google spokesperson emphasised the company’s commitment to complying with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and confirmed that they would cooperate fully with the DPC’s enquiries.

This development comes shortly after the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union rejected Google’s appeal against a 2.42 billion euro fine for past anti-competitive practices.