The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has launched an investigation into OpenAI’s product, ChatGPT, amid allegations that it violates consumer protection laws and jeopardizes personal data and reputations, as reported by the Washington Post. This regulatory action poses a significant threat to OpenAI, the groundbreaking AI startup supported by Microsoft, which has captured the attention of both consumers and businesses while also raising concerns about potential risks.
According to the Washington Post, the FTC has issued a 20-page document requesting records from OpenAI regarding how the company deals with risks associated with its AI models. The agency is particularly interested in determining if OpenAI’s practices have resulted in “reputational harm” to consumers, as stated in the newspaper.
Reuters reached out to both the FTC and OpenAI for comment, but has yet to receive a response.
As the race to create more advanced AI services gains momentum, regulatory bodies are intensifying their scrutiny over this transformative technology, which could disrupt various aspects of society and business operations.
In an effort to address two critical concerns – the data used to train AI models and the content generated by these models – global regulators are turning their attention to applying existing regulations governing copyright and data privacy, as stated in a Reuters report from May.
In the United States, Senate Majority Chuck Schumer has called for comprehensive legislation to ensure the advancement and implementation of safeguards for AI. He has announced plans to organize a series of forums on this topic later this year.
OpenAI faced a similar predicament in Italy earlier this year, where authorities temporarily shut down ChatGPT due to accusations of non-compliance with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – a comprehensive privacy framework implemented in 2018. However, ChatGPT was reinstated after OpenAI agreed to implement age verification features and allow European users to opt out of using their information to train the AI model.
Reporting by Mrinmay Dey and Samrhitha Arunasalam in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Maju Samuel
Credit: The Star : Tech Feed
