OpenAI faces a complaint in the EU because ChatGPT cannot correct false information about people

OpenAI has faced a privacy complaint in the European Union. The case concerns the inability of the ChatGPT chatbot to correct the misinformation it generates about people. TechCrunch writes about it.

A complaint was filed with the Austrian data protection authority by the non-profit organization noyb on behalf of an individual applicant. The complainant discovered that a chatbot had given him an incorrect date of birth.

According to the organization, the company refused to correct this data, citing the impossibility of such changes. Instead, it suggested filtering or blocking the data for certain requests, such as the complainant’s name.

OpenAI’s privacy policy states that users who notice that a chatbot has generated “factually inaccurate information about them” can submit a “correction request” via privacy.openai.com or by emailing [email protected].

However, it comes with a caveat: “Given the technical complexity of our models, we will not be able to correct inaccuracies in every case.”

In this case, OpenAI suggests that users request that their personal information be completely removed from ChatGPT results by filling out the appropriate web form.

It is worth noting that providing false information puts the technology on the path to collision with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which regulates how personal data of regional users can be processed.

Fines for non-compliance with the GDPR can reach up to 4% of a company’s global annual turnover. In the case of OpenAI, it is also important that regulators may require the giant to change the way it processes information.

According to the GDPR, EU citizens have a number of rights related to information about them, including the right to have erroneous data corrected. noyb argues that OpenAI does not honor this obligation with regard to the performance of its chatbot.

In addition, the organization emphasizes that OpenAI cannot say where the data that the chatbot generates about people comes from and what data it stores about people.

This is also important, as the GDPR entitles citizens to request such information by submitting a corresponding access request. According to the complainant, OpenAI did not provide an adequate response in this regard and did not disclose information about the data processed, its sources and recipients.