The European Union (EU) is investigating whether Google’s AI venture is in compliance with personal data protection rules in the region, according to reports by international media.
The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), which has, over the years, levied heavy fines on leading tech companies, has launched a probe against Google. The DPC is known for penalising powerful tech conglomerates, including Meta, which has accrued billions of dollars in fines from the watchdog and strict demands for corrective measures.
The DPC will be assessing whether Google’s practices for training its AI system, known as the “Pathways Language Model 2”, comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The GDPR is the primary piece of legislation covering tech companies and digital operations in the EU member states.
The DPC opens inquiries into potential and established data breaches on behalf of the EU as major tech companies have their European headquarters in Ireland.
“A Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA), where required, is of crucial importance in ensuring that the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals are adequately considered and protected when processing of personal data is likely to result in a high risk,” the regulator said in a statement.
The assessment of Google’s AI ventures intersecting personal data is being conducted as part of the DPC’s “wider efforts” regulate the data of citizens across the EU as development of AI systems advances rapidly in the region.
Google is not the first company subjected to scrutiny by the EU regulators. In August, Grok, an AI tool launched by billionaire Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter), came under the regulatory glare for its data processing practices. Consequently, the company had to change its settings for xAI to enable users to reject the use of their public posts for training Grok, and ultimately suspend the use of personal data.
In July, Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, halted the roll-out of its AI model in the EU, citing “unpredictable nature of the European regulatory environment”.
