UK Regulator Issues Preliminary Enforcement Notice Against Snap Over ‘My AI’ Chatbot:
Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, is facing a preliminary enforcement notice from the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) over concerns that it failed to adequately assess the privacy risks associated with its generative AI chatbot, ‘My AI.’ The ICO’s investigation found that Snap did not properly identify and assess the risks to millions of ‘My AI’ users in the UK, including children between the ages of 13 and 17.
If a final enforcement notice is issued, Snap may be required to cease processing data related to ‘My AI,’ effectively suspending the product for United Kingdom users until a proper risk assessment is conducted. The Information Commissioner, John Edwards, expressed concern over Snap’s failure to assess privacy risks before launching ‘My AI’ and emphasized the importance of organizations considering both the benefits and risks associated with AI. The preliminary enforcement notice reflects the ICO’s commitment to protecting the privacy rights of UK consumers.
Snap introduced the ‘My AI’ feature for UK Snapchat+ subscribers in February 2023 and expanded it to the broader UK Snapchat user base in April. This chatbot feature utilizes OpenAI’s GPT technology and is a notable example of generative AI integrated into a major messaging platform in the United Kingdom.
Snapchat had 21 million monthly active users in the United Kingdom as of May. The issuance of the preliminary enforcement notice follows an earlier reminder from the ICO to companies using generative AI to consider their data protection responsibilities from the outset of development.
Also read: Hyderabad Witnesses Sparse Attendance at Pakistan vs Netherlands Cricket Match
