Canada’s Watchdog Looks Into OpenAI Over Privacy Concerns

Canadian privacy regulators are initiating a collaborative inquiry into the data collection and usage practices of OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, as they join other major governments in examining the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

The federal privacy regulator, along with counterparts in Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta, will conduct an investigation to determine if OpenAI has obtained proper consent for collecting, using, and disclosing personal information of residents through ChatGPT, as reported by Reuters.

Read more: OpenAI CEO Says It May Leave The EU Over Regulations

The emergence of ChatGPT, a popular chatbot, has sparked competition between tech companies including Alphabet Inc and Meta, leading governments to consider regulations for the use of AI technology.

ChatGPT is capable of producing written works, including articles, essays, jokes, and poetry based on prompts. OpenAI, a privately owned entity supported by Microsoft, released it to the general public at no cost in late November.

Canada’s probe will also look into whether the company has respected “its obligations with respect to openness and transparency, access, accuracy and accountability”.

“As this is an active investigation, no additional details are available,” the commissioner’s office said, adding that the findings of the investigation would be reported publicly.