DPC claims Google failed to provide crucial information to approve the launch of Bard.
The launch of Bard, Google's innovative artificial intelligence (AI) service, in the European Union has been put on hold by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) due to data privacy concerns.
Having successfully launched Bard in the United States, the United Kingdom, and an additional 178 countries earlier this year, Google aimed to expand into the EU during the week of June 13th.
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However, according to Politico, these plans have unexpectedly been paused.
Deputy commissioner of the DPC, Graham Doyle, revealed that Google recently informed the commission about their plans to introduce Bard in the EU market within this week.
However, Doyle claimed that Google failed to present a detailed briefing, "data protection impact assessment, or any supporting documentation" to the commission. Therefore, the lack of disclosure led to the decision that Bard's EU launch will not be taking place this week as initially intended.
Regulation around AI technologies in the EU has been far more stringent when compared to their counterparts in the UK and the US. This was humorously noted by European data protection supervisor Wojciech Wiewiórowski, who likened the strenuous regulation to a "definition of hell" following the temporary ban on OpenAI's ChatGPT in Italy over privacy concerns.
Google now finds itself in a similar predicament with EU regulators. However, it should be noted that OpenAI's ChatGPT was eventually given the green light in Italy after adequately addressing the privacy concerns raised by the regulators.
This intensified scrutiny of AI technologies in the EU has its roots in the EU AI Act, a proposed framework for AI regulation in the European Union, introduced in May 2023. The architects of this Act aim to synchronize the governance of AI technologies with the General Data Protection Regulation, an extensive set of rules designed to safeguard citizen privacy.
It is clear that the AI Act, much like the Markets in Crypto-Assets legislation, imposes significantly different requirements for companies operating in the EU as compared to the UK or US. These include a stronger emphasis on security, privacy, and accountability.
The challenges Google faces in launching Bard in the EU underscore the increasing complexity and scrutiny in navigating the global regulatory landscape for AI technologies.
